One of the early surprises of the college football season was the remarkable dominance displayed by the Tennessee Volunteers. They won by an average margin of 64 to 4 in their first three games.
The Volunteers then headed to SEC play, where they traveled to Norman, Oklahoma, to face the Sooners. It was an emotional game for head coach Josh Heupel, who played at Oklahoma and was the starting quarterback on the Sooners’ last national championship team. The Volunteers won 25-15.
The Volunteers climbed to the top five in the rankings but were upset by the Arkansas Razorbacks after the bye week. On his show, the “Paul Finebaum Show,” the SEC Network analyst discussed Heupel’s crucial period at Tennessee. The team seemed like a sure bet for the playoffs, but the upset now leaves little room for error.
“I think he’s entering a very pivotal time in his tenure at Tennessee,” Finebaum said. “For all of the hype that we and I were giving him just days ago, these next few weeks are going to be important. I’m not as concerned about last year as I am this year.”