Before I get into the game, I have two points to make. First, I’m not putting my copy and paste intro into these weekly posts anymore, as it’s gotten repetitive and people back home now understand that Tennessee football is just awesome. Second, I skipped writing about the U.T. Martin game, as I covered that for Rock Solid Sports.
Anyways, we beat Kentucky by a score of a lot to a little and are now tied with Ohio State for 2nd in the AP Poll. A 44-6 win in a border rivalry is always fun to see. This game further proved a lot of things we already knew and put up stats that are just entertaining to look at. Hendon Hooker is the frontrunner for the Heisman. Jalin Hyatt alone has more receiving touchdowns than Georgia, Texas A&M, Florida, South Carolina, Missouri, and Auburn. Kentucky has only beat the Vols seven times since World War II. In summary, Tennessee is just built different.
I don’t think there was a single time the student section was concerned about the score. Of course, any call against the Vols the officials made, we disagreed with, but that’s only because that’s what we’re supposed to do. Earlier in the season, I mentioned how margins of victory like this allow people to sit back, relax, and have fun. Combine that with the buzz of Halloweekend, this might’ve been the most fun and less stressful game I’ve been to in my four years here.
Looking ahead, the next home game is in two weeks against Missouri at noon. However, let’s address the elephant in the room. The Vols are in Athens next to play Georgiat. You thought ‘Bama week was hype when SEC Nation and College Gameday came to Knoxville to see the #6 Vols take on the #3 Crimson Tide? Ramp up that intensity level past 10 and bring back SEC Nation and College Gameday. That’s what it’ll be like watching #2 Tennessee take on #1 Georgia. I’ve been using boxing metaphors leading up to this. Tennessee vs Alabama was like watching Rocky fight Apollo Creed; an entertaining and heartwarming underdog story that everyone says is their favorite. Playing Georgia is completely skipping over Clubber Lang and going straight into Ivan Drago, 15 rounds, or, in actual football terms, four quarters, of two heavyweights absolutely destroying each other until someone drops. Who that will be, I can’t say. What I can say is, regardless of the result, next week has the potential to be the greatest college football game ever played.