The Volunteers fielded the greenest team in the nation in 2014, by far, ultimately throwing twice as many true freshmen into the fire (23)7 as seniors (11); by years end, first- and second-year players outnumbered seniors on the official two-deep against Vanderbilt by a margin of 25 to four. But that didnt stop this roster from delivering Tennessees first .500 regular season since 2010, or from trading punches with Georgia, Florida, and Missouri in close losses. And the losses to the Bulldogs (by three points) and Gators (by one) came before coaches settled on sophomore Josh Dobbs as the obvious answer at quarterback in late October.
All of which is to say that the Vols were better than a team that young had any right to be against such a brutal schedule the nonSEC East portion of the slate included predictable wipeouts at the hands of Oklahoma, Ole Miss, and Alabama and that the investment stands to pay off sooner rather than later: Another competent effort, this time in the TaxSlayer Bowl (né Gator Bowl) against Iowa, will make Tennessee a chic dark-horse pick to win the East next year. If nothing else, the youth movement has already given UT fans more reason for optimism than theyve had since
since
oh my god. Since Lane Kiffin?