We can stop wondering if this Tennessee football team can play. There is new information. Now we know. Tennessee can be really tough at Neyland Stadium. It can win big. The big crowd helps.
Josh Heupel said these Vols are going to forever remember that victory over Alabama.
For now, early Tide ranking has been washed away. It’s time to tip the cap to the Tennessee coaching staff. It outcoached the favored rivals. The defensive game plan was outstanding. The defense was dominant. Heupel said it was also elite.
Tennessee defensive coaches (from 2026 UT graphic)
It truly turned back the Tide. It gave up one yard rushing in the second half.
Alabama was not prepared for what Tennessee did on offense. Or, maybe it was and simply could not stop it. The game plan was don’t try anything George MacIntyre was not prepared to do. That idea helped him excel. He looked exactly like he knew what he was doing.
As was the strategy in some other games, the best move was handing the ball to DeSean Bishop. The unexpected part was the offensive line at times knocked the Tide three or four yards off the line of scrimmage.
Heupel’s trademark tempo with wide splits suddenly seemed long ago. He hit Alabama with old-fashioned power football. That clock-consuming fourth-quarter drive was a work of art.
Amazing that Alabama did not bring corners up to help against the run. They stayed back to defend against up-and-out pass routes that didn’t happen.
Keep in mind that what we are talking about happened at Neyland Stadium, preserved by Pilot. We’ll find out later about road games. I’ve always heard that defense travels. Tennessee has defense. Jim Knowles may be worth double the dollars he is receiving.
If the defense can do it again at South Carolina, consider donations to encourage the coordinator with a token raise.
The Gamecocks are one of the puzzles in this very confusing SEC scramble. They lost three conference games in a row and sparked speculation that the coach was going, going, almost gone.
The same Gamecocks rose up and flogged Florida in Gainesville. Coach Shane Beamer was no longer a dead man walking. He actually looks borderline smart again after what the Gators did to Texas (in Austin).
That was just a little above so-what when compared to the hurt Auburn put on No. 1 Georgia. The Tigers won for the first time in nine years.
If you can stand one more shock, how about Kentucky and the deflated Bulldogs sharing first place in the SEC standings with 4-1 records.
Tennessee and Ole Miss are tied for third (3-1). Alabama and Florida share fifth (3-2). LSU, Mississippi State, Missouri and Auburn are 2-2.
Where is Texas, you ask? In a tie with Oklahoma for 11th place. The pressure is so heavy, Steve Sarkisian, in self-defense, is reevaluating Arch Manning as starting quarterback and himself as play-caller.
Before Question No. 2, Texas fans have already calculated the coach’s buyout at $50.15 million, no problem, pocket change.
Be sure South Carolina thinks it is good enough to knock off the Vols in Columbia on Saturday. Tennessee’s remaining schedule says “to be determined.”
If the Vols could somehow play lights-out every Saturday, possibilities are exciting. Decades of optimism and guessing wrong have told me anything could happen. All five games could go either way. Only Kentucky and LSU are at Neyland Stadium. Hold onto your tickets.
The Wildcats are the real surprise in one direction and the Texas A&M Aggies in the other. Fun to watch the Commodores compete without Diego Pavia. Incidentally, they are 0-4 in the SEC.
Marvin West welcomes comments and questions from readers at marvinwest75@gmail.com Read more westwords. Follow KnoxTNToday on Facebook, Instagram, X and LinkedIn. Get all KnoxTNToday articles in one place with our free newsletter.
Jeremiah Teelander had a great day for the Vols. Likely his best ever. But watching linemen play, as I sometimes do, it seemed like Xavier Gilliam was double teamed every down, sometimes an extra guy trying to clean up after the first 2. I think that cleared some lanes that other Vol defenders liked to see open. A guy as talented as Gilliam sometimes does great things by how his mere presence affects the other team. I bet the Gamecocks DC and staff are trying to figure it out.
Of course Marvin West says it best. What a fun, crazy year in the SEC.
Excellent story Marvin! I remember catching flak on VN for criticizing former DC Banks, stating that He had to go. I will say it again, Danny “Suggested” that Heuple hire Knowles. South Carolina will be the toughest matchup this season. CFB is all about redemption, and Beamer and the Gamecocks can get a boatload Saturday vs one of the two teams they want to beat the most, both wearing Orange. If Sellers is on his game, all the feel good after bama will wane. The crowd at Columbia will be as rabid as Neyland was vs bama. Thanks again Marvin West, you keep hitting home runs.