Tennessee’s defense is not only helping the Vols win games with a consistently good defensive unit, the defense is also providing game-turning plays that have kept the Vols in the College Football Playoff hunt.
The Vols are still very much in play to make the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff, in large part, due to an opportunistic defense that can change the entire course of a game with just one play. That was certainly the case in Tennessee’s 23-17 overtime win against the Gators on Saturday.
Here are four reasons why the Vols are proving to be one of the best defenses in the nation and one of the best in recent memory to don the orange:
Stats don’t lie – now
We’re at the point in the season in which statistics can be trusted more than previous weeks. The Vols’ defense was tops in the nation in several categories earlier this season, but those rankings were questionable when Tennessee’s defense feasted on programs that were clearly outmanned, like Chattanooga and Kent State. Now, the Vols have a better resume thanks to the opposition they’ve played, such as Oklahoma, Arkansas and Florida.
Tennessee is second in the SEC in total defense, allowing just 250 yards per game. That ranks just behind Texas, which is allowing 230 yards per game. The Vols are second in rushing defense, allowing just 80 yards per game, and fourth in passing defense, allowing 170 yards per game.
Stats don’t lie – historically
Tennessee has held its opponents to under 20 points in seven straight games, dating back to the Vols’ 35-0 shutout win over Iowa in the 2024 Citrus Bowl. It marks the first time UT has accomplished the feat in its first six games of a season since 1969, when it held seven straight opponents under 20 points to start that year.
For the seventh consecutive game, dating back to the final outing of the 2023 regular season against Vanderbilt, Tennessee’s defense did not concede a first-half touchdown. That has allowed the Vols’ struggling offense time to find themselves against premier competition.
The Vols are clutch
Tennessee didn’t completely shut down Florida, but they made plays when they had to, which was most evident by EDGE rusher James Pearce’s strip of Florida’s Graham Mertz as the quarterback was trying to push his way into the endzone.
The Vols also turned in timely plays via an interception by linebacker Arion Carter that resulted in a game-tying field goal in the second quarter and a tackle for a loss by defensive lineman Bryson Eason on a screen pass in overtime that forced the Gators to attempt an unsuccessful field goal.
The Vols are deep
Tennessee finished with 12 tackles for a loss against Florida and had 12 different players record at least half a tackle for loss. That’s nothing new. Tennessee has had 24 players make a play behind the opposition’s line of scrimmage this season. The Vols have also had 10 players that have been a part of a quarterback sack this season.
Six Vols have forced a fumble this season. Tennessee has had 14 players break up a pass and three players record an interception this season. There is no one player that has to stand out for the Vols in order for them to have a shutdown defense.
