Tennessee win at Alabama shows they did well with Josh Heupel

The signs were there from the start, until the start of last season.

Tennessee started posting big offensive numbers, numbers that hadn’t been seen recently in Knoxville. The Volunteers went from the 109th ranked offense in 2020 to No. 7 last year. They had a four-game turnaround and reached a bowling game for only the second time in five years.

It was obvious then that Tennessee had found a coach after missing so many times dating back to when Phillip Fulmer walked the sideline. On Saturday, the whole country realized it, saw Josh Heupel and his star quarterback, Hendon Hooker, stun Alabama, 52-49, strongly announce themselves as national championship contenders.

Tennessee, an SEC East punching bag for the better part of two decades, didn’t just beat everyone’s bully in the rivalry on the third Saturday in October. It took a roundhouse and showed he had an iron chin, recovered after he lost an 18-point lead to knock Crimson Tide off Nick Saban for the first time in 16 years. He snagged the most runs on Alabama in more than a century, dating back to 1907 when Sewanee scored 54.

After Lane Kiffin and Derek Dooley, Butch Jones and Jeremy Pruitt, Tennessee has finally succeeded with Heupel. His hiring did not create a stir like some of the others who came before him. It was not highly praised. He’s not from the Saban trainer tree. He worked his way up the coaching ladder, spending time as an assistant at Arizona, Oklahoma, Utah State and Missouri before going 28-8 in three seasons in as Chief of Central Florida.

Last year, Heupel won seven games in his first season at Tennessee, losing three times by one score. Then came this fall, and that 6-0 start, a streak they had been waiting for years in Tennessee. He made Hooker one of the best quarterbacks in the nation, the super senior with 46 touchdowns and just three interceptions since joining him after three seasons at Virginia Tech.

Installing a modern, fast-paced offense, Heupel has coached aggressively since arriving on campus, and no more so than against Alabama. Tennessee attacked all game. When Crimson Tide kicker Will Reichard’s 50-yard field goal was wide to the right, there were just 15 seconds left. Many coaches would have taken a knee, would be happy with extra time. Heupel coached to win the game rather than not lose it, and Hooker put Chase McGrath in position to take the 16-year-old in the making spectacular win with a 40-yard field goal he threw through the uprights.

A raucous celebration ensued, with the crowd of 102,000 inside Neyland Stadium exploding and storming the pitch. The goal posts have been demolished. Tennessee was the story of the day, and it became the biggest story of this season.

orange crush

On Saturday afternoon, Syracuse became more than a cute and unpredictable upstart. By whipping NC State, 24-9, at home to remain undefeated, the Oranges announced themselves as deserving of the No. 18 ranking next to their name, as one of the most unlikely teams this season.

Syracuse have won 11 games over the past three seasons and five league competitions. He finished with a losing record seven of the last eight years. He was last picked in the mediocre Atlantic Division of the ACC. But Dino Babers’ side now find themselves as one of only two undefeated ACC teams remaining, in their first 6-0 start since 1987. Predictably, the other is Clemson, the opponent of ‘Orange next week. Remarkably, Syracuse and star running back Sean Tucker will feature in one of the nation’s showpiece games in Death Valley.

It will be a heavy underdog. No one expects much from Syracuse. But expectations were also low at the start of the season and, after six games, Orange have yet to lose.

The three from the SEC?

The scenario is unlikely, but it is possible. The SEC could send three teams to the playoffs. Consider: Alabama wins, beating Georgia in the SEC title game. Georgia dominates Tennessee on November 5, handing the Volunteers their only loss. All three teams would have a high level loss and all would have a very good victory.

Now Ohio State and Clemson are both undefeated, big brands that likely won’t be knocked out of the playoffs if they win. You would have to suffer a loss to not get there. TCU, the undefeated leader of the Big 12, could be another factor. One of the aforementioned SEC teams could end up with two losses. But don’t discount the possibility that the Central Conference has at least three teams with a shot at a title. Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia seem to be three of the best teams in the country.