It’s Monday. Yep.
Let’s do it…
1) Man, what a showing by the Tennessee fans in Columbus.
I don’t think there are official numbers, but 25-30 thousand is completely believable given the walls of orange across the stadium. What an incredible job Tennessee fans did for their part to create as good an environment as possible for the Vols on Saturday night at Ohio Stadium.
If only the team did literally anything (aside from Nico; more on that later)…
2) On that same vein, Kirk Herbstreit said on Gameday that it was the most visiting fans he’d seen at a College Gameday in his 29 years doing the show.
The kicker for Pat McAfee’s field goal competition was even a UT fan. That’s pretty wild. Too bad he had zero ability to take home a quarter mil, shanking two attempts woefully.
Still, the fact there were that many Tennessee fans in attendance and the fan kicker was from the visiting fanbase speaks volumes again to the number of UT fans in attendance. Vol fans came away as big winners this weekend regardless of the game, proving their fanaticism, loyalty, and hunger for a winner. Bravo to all who made the trek.
3) And……then the game happened.
I predicted the Vols to lose a rock fight, as I thought Tennessee’s defense was going to be up to the challenge. Oh, was I wrong.
Yes, the Bryson Eason facemask on the opening series hurt big time, but even if that didn’t happen, Tennessee wasn’t staying on the field with Ohio State. Jeremiah Smith is a future slam dunk lead pipe lock first round pick (absent injury), and he is a player of the caliber the Vols hadn’t faced yet this season, with the possible exception of Alabama’s Ryan Williams. When you have players that good and QB Will Howard dropping absolute perfect throws into receivers in stride, it’s hard to stop that.
4) I will say I’m massively disappointed in the defensive front though.
That unit was supposed to challenge Ohio State’s banged up offensive line, and instead, they got handled. That’s where the game was lost on the defensive side of the ball. A true shame that unit completely went on a milk carton in their two toughest road tests at Georgia and Ohio State. 7-5 Michigan’s front completely shut down Ohio State the game before (yes, I know it’s a rivalry game). It’s not too much of an ask for the Vols to have done significantly better than they did.
5) Tennessee’s wide receivers were supposed to have been a strength this season. Boy, were they not that. No one could get open on Saturday night, and that was a microcosm of much of this season.
Josh Heupel said in April that it was the deepest group he’d ever had. Chris Brazzell II said in August the room was full of potential NFL talent. Nope.
Brazzell fizzled. Bru McCoy never returned to form. Squirrel White was oft injured and still hasn’t turned the corner the last two years. Mike Matthews really hasn’t been given the chance for some reason. Donte’ Thornton, Jr. made big plays, but was a boom or bust player too often.
Now, especially after Chas Nimrod, Kaleb Webb, and two others hit the portal, with McCoy and Thornton leaving, the questions are even greater at that position moving forward. It HAS to be better in 2025, or this offense isn’t going to look significantly better.
6) But man, what a heck of a fight from Nico Iamaleava on Saturday.
He did everything he could and took an absolute pounding for four quarters. Tennessee had to implement the QB run more with nothing working, particularly in the second quarter, and he took some hard shots. That frozen ground probably felt like getting tackled on concrete, too. 20 carries for 47 yards for the day for Nico.
That earned him a shoutout on Monday from Pat McAfee on his show, as he praised Nico’s toughness. I think that’s important, for Tennessee’s QB and leader to keep fighting despite the circumstances.
It was ugly, but hopefully that will be a point where the program sees how short they are of the elite teams in the country (yes, a borrowed phrase from post-Georgia for years) and work to get to that point.
For the time being, time to enjoy the #1 Tennessee basketball team, the resurgent Lady Vols, and the defending national champion Base Vols soon as well.
A big thanks to the football players, coaches, and staff who brought fans a memorable season.
Go Vols!