2015 Season proves to be mixed bag of emotions for Tennessee
Tennessee’s 2015 football season was a successful one, but one marked by ‘What if’ scenarios.
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After trouncing Northwestern 45-6 in the Outback Bowl on New Year’s Day, Butch Jones and the Tennessee Volunteers get to look back at the Vols’ first nine-win season since they went 10-4 in 2007. Although that mark clearly shows the progress Jones and the Vols are making as a program, the postseason feelings have to be bittersweet for a team that lost four games by a combined 17 points.
Following a season-opening win over Bowling Green, Tennessee fans were feeling good about their chances at home against the Oklahoma Sooners. After taking a 17-3 lead into halftime, the Vols put on their conservative thinking caps and were shut out in the second half. Tennessee managed just 55 yards of offense in the final two quarters, 31 of those coming from a Jalen Hurd run on the first play of the half. The Vols and Sooners both scored a touchdown in the opening overtime period. After Oklahoma opened the second overtime with another touchdown, Josh Dobbs’ third down pass was intercepted to seal the Sooner victory.
The following week, Tennessee traveled to Gainesville with hopes of ending the Florida Gators’ 10-game winning streak over the Volunteers. Hurd’s 10-yard touchdown run with just over 10 minutes to play seemed to put a nail in the coffin of a decade-old corpse. But, to Vol fans’ disbelief, Florida scored two touchdowns in two minutes and 43 seconds and Aaron Medley’s last-second field goal try missed by inches.
Not much changed when the Arkansas Razorbacks rolled into Knoxville. The Vols went up 14-0 after Evan Berry took the opening kickoff for six and Dobbs raced seven yards to the endzone on Tennessee’s first offensive drive. But Tennessee scored just six points — a pair of Medley field goals — in the final 50 minutes and 57 seconds of the game. Jalen Hurd had four second-half carries. Razorback running back Alex Collins rushed for 154 yards and two touchdowns as Arkansas snapped a three-game losing skid with a win on Rocky Top.
Finally, Tennessee went to Tuscaloosa to try and break a nine-game losing streak to the Crimson Tide. The Vols held Alabama to one touchdown for over three and a half quarters but couldn’t break through offensively to take advantage. Trailing by six with 7:01 to go, the Vols gashed Alabama for plays of 27, 34, and finally 12 yards in a touchdown drive to take a 14-13 lead with 5:49 left in the game. However, Tennessee just couldn’t close it out. Derrick Henry’s 14-yard rushing touchdown with 2:24 remaining gave Alabama the lead for good. Dobbs was sacked and fumbled away any hopes Tennessee had of upsetting the Tide.
And that was it. Those four losses were the only blemishes on a season mostly filled with flashes of a promising future on Rocky Top. But the feeling is bittersweet. Vol fans are left with an overhwhelming sense of “What if?” If you change the outcome of any of Tennessee’s losses — with the exception of Arkansas — it changes the landscape of college football.
If Tennessee had beaten Oklahoma, the Sooners probably don’t make the CFP this year. The Vols just needed points in the second half. Any points. They could have gotten them on the first drive of the third quarter, but Aaron Medley missed a 48-yard field goal try wide right. Don’t forget about Butch Jones electing to kick a field goal from the Oklahoma one-yard line to open the game. With a win, the Vols could have announced to the nation that they were back and ready to compete with the best teams in the country.
If Tennessee had beaten Florida in Gainesville, the Vols would have met Alabama for a rematch in the SEC championship game. Heck, the Vols were mere inches from doing it anyway as time expired. If Tennessee had won and snapped the streak in Gainesville, do the Vols come out and lose at home to Arkansas the following week? Probably not. Going by that, the Vols are 10-2 heading into the SEC title game. Tennessee would probably be too far out to be a playoff team, but they would be in prime position for a Fiesta or Sugar Bowl appearance.
If Tennessee had beaten Alabama, the SEC would have been left out of the playoff. Ole Miss is in Atlanta to take on Florida in the SEC championship game, and even if Florida had won, the committee would not have taken them over Ohio State or Stanford. Tennessee would have broken its second conference losing streak (Georgia) of the year and would have erased doubts that Butch Jones could lead Tennessee to a win in a big game.
Despite all of this, Tennessee’s improvement shouldn’t be ignored or swatted away like a nagging fly. The Vols met season expectations by winning nine games and showed the ability to compete with the best teams in the nation for 60-plus minutes. Tennessee should be on the College Football Playoff radar next year.
But, the 2015 season leaves a lot of questions surrounding the Vols, Butch Jones, and winning big games. The answers need to come next year with wins.
Edited by Cody McClure
Nathan is a junior at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville. He spends most of his free time eating meaningless foods and watching sports. If you wish to contact Nathan, you can email him at wodom3@vols.utk.edu or find him on Twitter, @NathanOdom11.
