By Jack Glennon
COLUMBIA, SC. – Typically, being 6-2 through eight games and making the College Football Playoff (CFP) as an SEC team are mutually exclusive.
Not for the Tennessee Volunteers, however, who sit at 6-2 after suffering tremendous heartbreak against the South Carolina Gamecocks, 27-24 on Saturday afternoon.
Though it would be ridiculously unfair to entirely credit quarterback George MacIntyre for revamping the Tennessee offense since Faizon Brandon was benched, Brandon’s absence alone has opened the floodgates for Tennessee.
I say this not because MacIntyre is the second coming of Peyton Manning, but rather because his ability to improvise and make accurate throws over the middle makes Tennessee’s offense significantly less predictable.
The bad news for Tennessee is that they suffered greatly from refusing to trust him.
Across more than 34 minutes of possession, the Volunteers totaled an astonishing 50 rush attempts, while passing the ball a measly 23 times.
Although I am a devout advocate for establishing the run, the lack of trust that head coach Josh Heupel instills in George MacIntyre is concerning.
To win football games, you must afford your quarterback at least a handful of opportunities to make winning plays.
In this game, one could count those occurrences on a single hand.
What ultimately cost the Volunteers the game, however, was their slow start and finish in this game.
Between the first and fourth quarters, Tennessee committed an astounding nine penalties, costing them 75 yards.
“[This is an] extremely painful feeling,” linebacker Amare Campbell said. “We [have] got to have better discipline as a unit.”
Even worse, the Volunteers were outscored by a combined 21 points in the first and fourth quarters.
Though the Tennessee defense was far from superb, it gave the Volunteer offense a fair chance to win, provided the fact that they only yielded 27 points.
Their most obvious shortcoming, however, was their complete inability to contain South Carolina quarterback LaNorris Sellers outside of the pocket.
On 18 attempts, he tallied 96 yards to go along with two touchdowns.
“He affected and changed the way the game was played,” Heupel said. “We let him escape the pocket on some critical plays that allowed [for continued] drives.”
For perspective, South Carolina’s next leading rusher, Matt Fuller, had just 28 yards.
Sellers was not just a threat with his legs, however, as he completed 18 of 32 passes for 210 yards, adding a touchdown and an interception.
Despite their struggles in containing Sellers, the Volunteer defense is still yet to allow an opponent to score 28 points in a game this season.
As a result, the Volunteers’ playoff fate lies entirely in their own hands, much unlike a season ago.
On an encouraging note, Tennessee is still 3-1 since pulling Brandon in favor of MacIntyre.
Since the CFP expanded its bracket to 12 teams in 2024, the benchmark for a Power 4 team to qualify has generally hovered around 10-2.
And, with four games left, the Volunteers’ path to the coveted 10-2 record is still feasible.
“The postseason is a long ways away,” Heupel said. “Every week is a new season in [the SEC].”
Though the Volunteers will face two ranked opponents across their final four games, both of those contests will take place inside the friendly confines of Neyland Stadium.
As for the two road games, the Volunteers will face off against Texas A&M and Vanderbilt, who have combined for a whopping 1-8 record in SEC play.
Assuming the Volunteers are able to avoid disaster against two of the SEC’s bottom feeders, they would still have to win both of their home games to finish 10-2.
So, are the Volunteers’ chances of winning out and qualifying for the CFP high? Most certainly not.
But is doing so within reach? Absolutely.