Tennessee Football: 3 Reasons Volunteers Will Play in SEC Championship

Sep 24, 2016; Knoxville, TN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers head coach Butch Jones and defensive lineman Kendal Vickers (39) during the second half against the Florida Gators at Neyland Stadium. Tennessee won 38-28. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports

The Tennessee Volunteers were the pick of many college football fans to win the SEC East prior to the 2016 season, and this team has a very realistic shot to get to Atlanta.

Many figured 2016 would be the year for the Tennessee Volunteers, and there was good reason to believe that. The theory is you should let an NCAA football coach have at least four years. That allows his first recruiting class to go through a full cycle, and at that point, you have a fair measuring device to discuss his performance.

2016 marks the fourth year that Butch Jones has been at the helm in Knoxville, and following a comeback win against the Florida Gators, questions are starting to surface concerning how good this team can be. The victory, which snapped an 11 game losing streak to the Gators, sets up a very difficult stretch for Tennessee, but here’s what’s interesting. As tough as these games look on the schedule, all are winnable.

Two road games against the Georgia Bulldogs and Texas A&M Aggies are followed by their perennial matchup against the Alabama Crimson Tide, and while there’s no team in the conference that looks forward to seeing Alabama on the schedule, Tennessee proved last year that they can play with the best team in college football. Now the question is can they beat them? We believe they’ve got a shot to do so, and they can get to the championship game in Atlanta.

Here’s why:

Sep 24, 2016; Knoxville, TN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers quarterback Joshua Dobbs (11) runs the ball against Florida Gators defensive back Marcus Maye (20) during the second half at Neyland Stadium. Tennessee won 38-28. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports

1. 19 starters returned, including quarterback Joshua Dobbs.

Yes, you read that correctly. 19 starters returned from last year’s team including nine on offense and eight on defense. They’re all a year older, talented and battle tested.

The easy thing to do would be to look at the schedule and immediately bring up last season’s 9-4 record and stop there. What that record doesn’t tell you is all four losses were by a combined total of 17 points. They lost to both opponents from the SEC West, the Crimson Tide and the Arkansas Razorbacks, but they controlled both games for the majority of the contest and even had a lead on both teams in the fourth quarter.

None of that has been forgotten as this team walks through this season. This team wasn’t crushed by the losses from a season ago. They grew from them and learned from them. That all culminated in last year’s Outback Bowl where the Volunteers took out all of their frustration on the Northwestern Wildcats resulting in a 45-6 victory.

This team knows what it means to lose focus, and concentration and finishing has been drilled in their heads constantly. Quarterback Joshua Dobbs leads the charge on offense, and if he can continue to improve and continue to work on his accuracy, he could be a force for the remainder of the season. Is he good enough to win the Heisman Trophy? Maybe not, but he is good enough to beat the rest of the SEC East and, possibly, Alabama and Texas A&M.

Sep 24, 2016; Knoxville, TN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers running back Alvin Kamara (6) runs the ball against the Florida Gators during the first quarter at Neyland Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports

2. They’re members of the SEC East, not the SEC West.

Going to Georgia and College Station won’t be a field trip by any means, but this team is good enough to win both games. Last year, they gave Alabama everything they could handle. This time they get them at home in the friendly confines of Neyland Stadium.

Beating the Gators and ending the losing streak this season now assures the Volunteers hold the tie-breaker if it comes down to one (a very real possibility). Beating Georgia would mean the same thing. They may not be favored in their games against the Aggies and the Crimson Tide, but again, they play in the SEC East. Two losses may still get you to the championship game.

There are two things you want to keep in mind. Number one, Georgia and Florida both avoid Alabama on the schedule, but the Gators still play the LSU Tigers and Arkansas Razorbacks. Number two, Georgia has to travel to Oxford, Mississippi to face the Ole Miss Rebels, and there’s still that game on October 29th where Georgia and Florida play each other. Nobody is coming out of this season unscathed.

Sep 24, 2016; Knoxville, TN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers head coach Butch Jones during the second half against the Florida Gators at Neyland Stadium. Tennessee won 38-28. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports

3. Butch Jones may be doing the best coaching job in the SEC East

The SEC East just isn’t as good as the SEC West. We all can agree on that if we don’t agree on anything else. What’s unfortunate for the Volunteers is they get two of the best teams from the west this year, Alabama and Texas A&M. They’ve already made a statement by avenging one of their three conference losses from a year ago. Now with the feather in their cap that is the Florida Gators they get ready to walk through a three game stretch that may decide their season.

The Volunteers have improved every season that that Butch Jones has been at the helm. They’re coming off of their first nine-win season in eight years and this team may even be better than they were last year. One thing’s certain. They’ve got the right guy running the show. Their comeback victory over the Gators show a lot about them as they head into a three-game stretch that no one’s going to get jealous about.

Psychologically, they’ve been given a boost. physically and mentally they’ve grown. Don’t expect this team to blow big leads in the fourth quarter like they did last year against Arkansas.