Despite losing a five-star quarterback, Tennessee footbqall was billed as a College Football Playoff contender before the season, even while some picked the Vols to finish 10th in the SEC.
I had doubts about putting the Vols in the CFP conversation.
However, I didn’t know quarterback Joey Aguilar would be quite this good. He’s clearly been better than Nico Iamaleava, who has struggled at UCLA.
For Tennessee to make the 12-team CFP, it must continue to get excellent play from Aguilar and from its offense as the No. 15 Vols (2-1) host Alabama-Birmingham (-2-1) at 12:45 p.m. Saturday.
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Here are a few observations about Tennessee football:
Can Chris Brazzell be Jalin Hyatt 2.0?
In 2021, Jalen Hyatt, a highly touted recruit, was benched because he kept dropping passes.
Frustrated by his play, Hyatt hit the jugs gun, catching 1000s of passes during the offseason.
It paid off. Hyatt went from 21 catches for 226 yards and two touchdowns as a sophomore to 67 catches for 1267 yards and five touchdowns (five against Alabama) to win the Biletnikoff Award as the nation’s outstanding receiver.
Brazzell was a coveted recruit from the transfer portal after catching 44 passes for 711 yards and five touchdowns at Tulane. He had the speed to take the top off a defense.
But last year, Brazzell had issues with drops. He didn’t get benched, but he didn’t produce the way Tennessee had hoped with only 29 catches for 333 yards and two scores.
Brazzell came back a different player, however. Thus far this season, he has 20 catches for 364 yards and three touchdowns. He had six catches for 177 yards and three scores against Georgia, almost matching Hyatt’s brilliant day against Alabama three years ago.
So why is Brazzell much improved?
Maybe it was his offseason work. Maybe he’s got better chemistry with Aguilar. Maybe he’s learned UT’s system. Maybe he’s more confident.
Whatever it is, he’s striking a resemblance to the improvement Hyatt made from 2021 to 2022.
And that’s made a huge impact on UT’s offense.
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Defense struggling: How much due to injuries?
Tennessee’s surrendered 44 points to Georgia (six coming in overtime). The Vols allowed the Dawgs 502 total yards, 304 passing and 198 rushing.
It was the most yards and points scored by Georgia in Josh Heupel’s five seasons at Tennessee.
That was in stark contrast to UT’s 2024 defense, which ranked second in the SEC in several major categories.
Do the Vols miss first-round pick James Pearce and second-round pick Omarr Norman-Lott that much off the defensive line.
Or, are injuries the main culprit?
All-American cornerback Jermod McCoy suffered a torn ACL in January and hasn’t returned.
The team’s second best corner, Ricky Gibson, has an upper body injury that might sideline him for the season.
And two defensive tackle starters – Daevin Hobbs and Jaxson Moi – are out.
Those injuries have not only stolen starter talent from the lineup, but robbed UT of depth along the defensive line and in the secondary.
To date, UT is allowing 29 points per game (compared to 16.1 last year) and 365 total yards (compared to 293.2). UT has also given up 40 more passing yards per game.
No doubt, UT will be much better on defense when and if all four starters return. But it’s doubtful the defense will be as good as it was in 2024.
The key is not to make a dramatic fall in performance.
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UT schedule tougher than it looked in August
The general consensus entering this season was that Tennessee football had one of the SEC’s easiest conference schedules – and one of the least challenging overall.
But that SEC slate looks much tougher now.
Arkansas, which upset the Vols last year, has a dynamic quarterback in Taylen Green. The Hogs had a chance to upset Ole Miss in Oxford but fumbled inside the 25-yard line in the final minutes.
No. 20 Vanderbilt outscored Virginia Tech 34-0 to end game, then blew out South Carolina 31-7 in Columbia. Vandy isn’t all about quarterback Diego Pavia. The defense is good too.
No. 11 Oklahoma is the SEC’s most improved team. The Sooners beat Michigan, then routed Temple in what Kirk Herbstreit said would be a 17-17 game in the second half.
No. 14 Alabama has bounced back from a 31-17 loss to Florida State behind QB Ty Simpson, who has been red hot in the last two games, completing about 90% of his passes.
And No. 29 Mississippi State upset Arizona State, last year’s Big 12 champs who nearly upset Texas in the CFP last year.
Florida is not as good as expected, but UT hasn’t won in Gainesville since 2003.
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Tennessee vs. UAB
Will Tennessee football have a hangover after the gut-wrenching overtime loss to Georgia?
Heupel’s history says no. He’s typically blown out teams after a tough loss.
It’s hard to imagine the Blazers (2-1) containing UT’s offense, considering UAB is allowing 36 points and 472.7 yards per game.
UAB under coach Trent Dilfer (former Super Bowl winning QB) can score. The Blazers are averaging 35.7 points and 451 yards per game.
UAB has wins over Alabama State (52-42) and Akron (31-28). The loss was to Navy (38-24). Blazers quarterback Jalen Kitna has completed 70 of 99 passes for 892 yards and six scores with two picks.
The top receivers are Corri Milliner (17 for 268 with three TDs) and Iverson Hooks (16 for 229 and two scores). Jevon Jackson leads the run game with 46 carries for 277 yards.
UAB might be able to match ETSU’s 17 points but they have little chance of slowing down UT’s attack.
Prediction: Tennessee 52 UAB 13
