If you cared and watched, the national championship game should totally change your opinion about Tennessee’s football season, despite how it ended last month.
Things looked pretty grim when the Vols were beaten soundly by Ohio State in the first round of the College Football Playoff. The Vols lost 42-17 and looked like they were woefully behind one of the top programs in the nation, especially in talent.
Now, after Ohio State won the national championship on Monday evening with a 34-23 victory over Notre Dame to wrap up the inaugural 12-team playoff, things look different.
Ohio State clearly showed that it was the best team in the nation as they steamrolled their earlier playoff opponents, Oregon and Texas, 41-21 and 28-14, respectively. Like the Tennessee game, those games weren’t close. In fact, the national championship game was the closest game in the Buckeyes’ title run, and it was clear to all watching that Ohio State was superior to Notre Dame.
After falling down 7-0 in the first quarter, the Buckeyes rang up 21 second-quarter points and eventually built a 31-7 lead, putting the Fighting Irish in a hole they couldn’t climb out of. Tennessee knows the feeling. The Vols fell behind 21-0 to the Buckeyes in the first quarter of their first-round matchup with Ohio State.
So we know this much: Tennessee isn’t the best team in the nation. Check. But where do they rank among other college football teams now that we have a playoff with a committee that did a questionable job of seeding its teams? That’s a tough question.
Welcome to the new wild, wild playoff world where teams’ finish in a poll no longer matters. Sure, it’s a matter of record, as the AP Poll has been the one consistent ranking throughout the history of college football, but it’s now become obvious that it’s win it all or go home sulking.
Nevertheless, the Vols’ season should be viewed as a grand success, a step in the right direction and even more impressive if you’re willing to grant some grace to Tennessee now that we know they lost to the eventual national champion. It should also be a wake-up call that Tennessee’s talent level has to improve, either through recruiting or experience, the latter of which is Tennessee’s chosen method.
The Vols’ 2024 season would have been viewed much differently had they not lost to Arkansas. That still stings, but we’ve learned there is salvation from such a gut-wrenching loss. Ohio State fans certainly aren’t talking about that loss to Michigan anymore.
The last time that Tennessee’s football team made true national championship runs, the Vols were often stymied by Florida and, arguably, were the second-best team in the nation in the mid and late 1990s. While that can’t be said about the 2024 season, Tennessee was solidly in the inaugural 12-team playoff. That’s a special season if you can set aside the pain of the one-sided loss to the Buckeyes last month.
The Vols had a shot at winning it all despite a brutal loss, just like Ohio State. More than anything else, that’s what you should think about Tennessee’s 2024 season, which should be considered a grand success.
