Two weeks ago, Missouri Tigers head coach Eli Drinkwitz publicly declared all 10-2 SEC teams should get into the College Football Playoff, only to see his team lose to the South Carolina Gamecocks, ensuring they won’t finish 10-2. Since beating the UTEP Miners Saturday, Josh Heupel has taken a very different approach.
Heupel is striking a balance between not ignoring the importance of the CFP but also not trying to jockey for a spot. After the Vols beat UTEP 56-0, they had already solidified a spot thanks to other noon game results. However, rather than address where they should be, Heupel just said there was a lot of football left to be played.
“We’ve seen it, and we’ve lived it on both sides of it,” he said on Saturday. “It’s about controlling yourself and preparing to play good on Saturdays.”
That doesn’t mean that Heupel is ignoring the stakes of the CFP. For the Vols, it’s simple. If they beat the Vanderbilt Commodores this week in Nashville, they’re in. They’re out if they don’t.
Such a situation is totally different from last week when they kicked off against the UTEP Miners. They clearly needed help then, and with other games going on to affect their CFP standing, they had an awful first quarter. As Heupel insisted Monday, it’s about what they do.
“It’s for us and focus on the task at hand and we have to be our best on Saturday,” he said. “You can look at how they’ve performed throughout the course of the season, how they’ve played at home, statistically what they’re doing in all three phases.”
In a year of unprecedented upsets across college football, teams can’t afford to take weeks off anymore against opponents who are anything less than bowl caliber. Focusing on the CFP only further complicates that.
Against that backdrop, Heupel was clearly aware of the challenge. He was also aware of the opportunity that comes with those challenges.
“The better you play, the more you win, the bigger the games get,” he said. “It doesn’t matter. For us, this is the next step in our dream. Laser focused on how we prepare, how we practice and get ready to go play well in all three phases in this one.”
Of course, in Tennessee’s case, Vanderbilt is a team the Vols have a long history of beating. It’s a little bit odd to think that’s the challenge to reach the CFP and that it’s no guarantee.
On the other hand, Heupel didn’t ignore that the Nashville school is a historic rivalry, despite the results on the field. That increases the importance of the Vols maintaining their focus.
“Unique thing here at Tennessee is you’ve got a bunch of them, but this is a long-standing rivalry that we’ve had with them,” he said. “It’s Thanksgiving weekend, you’re playing in a big game against one of your rivals, this is the opportunity that you want to have.”
Perhaps there is an increased desire to beat Vandy combined with the opportunity to reach the CFP. Either way, with no clear picture of how the other games will affect them this week, the Vols have no excuse to not solely focus on this matchup.
