Butch Jones team cant help but play the what-if game over failing to claim an SEC East title in a season when it was within the Volunteers grasp.
This was a season that we will remember for a couple of heartbreaking losses -- namely September defeats against Oklahoma and Florida when the Vols (8-4, 5-3 SEC) were on the verge of breakthrough victories -- but Jones club still made progress overall.
Their eight wins were the most by a Tennessee team since 2007, and this will be the first time since that 07 season that the Vols will play in a New Years Day bowl game. The 2015 season fell short of being as special as it could have been, but the Vols five-game winning streak to close the regular season is yet another example of the steady progress they are making under Jones.
Best moment: Tennessee had already suffered two painful fourth-quarter defeats when it made Georgia taste that bitter pill on Oct. 10.
Georgia led 24-3 in the second quarter before Tennessee quarterback Josh Dobbs (312 passing yards, three TDs, 118 rushing yards, two rushing TDs) led a major comeback. The Vols scored 28 unanswered points and carried a 31-24 lead into the fourth quarter before barely holding off the Bulldogs 38-31 with a late defensive stand.
Worst moment: The losses to Oklahoma and Florida felt equally bad.
Tennessee led Oklahoma 17-3 entering the fourth quarter only to have Baker Mayfield force overtime by hitting Sterling Shepard with a touchdown pass with 40 seconds to play. The Sooners won 31-24 in the second OT when they picked off a Dobbs pass on the final play.
Two weeks later, the Vols led 27-14 before Florida scored two touchdowns in the final 4:09 the second of which was a fourth-and-14 completion that Antonio Callaway took for the game-winning touchdown with 1:26 to play and won 28-27. That loss was especially painful since it eventually made the difference in Florida reaching the SEC title game over Tennessee.
Offensive MVP: Running back Jalen Hurd (1,158 yards, 11 TDs) might be Tennessees most talented offensive player, but Dobbs is the most valuable. His run-pass ability is the catalyst for much of what the Vols accomplish on offense, and even if he struggled at points, he still completed a solid junior season.
Dobbs finished the regular season with 2,125 passing yards, 15 TDs and five INTs and added another 623 yards on the ground plus nine more scores.
Defensive MVP: Junior linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin is the obvious choice here as the multi-talented leader of the Vols defense.
Perhaps the highlight of his season was a 21-tackle, three-TFL performance against Oklahoma, but Reeves-Maybin provided lots of highlights this fall. He leads the team with 99 tackles and 13 TFLs, plus he recorded five sacks, four pass breakups, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.
Biggest question for 2016: Jones' staff has stockpiled talent for the past couple of seasons. Next season will be the point where he needs to prove that he can not only put his team in position to win big games, but his coaching can allow them to close out those wins. The SEC East will be wide open again next season and skeptics will view anything short of a division title as a failure by Jones. This should be Tennessees time.
Reason for optimism in 2016: Tennessees roster seems to set up well for 2016, particularly if draft-eligible players like Reeves-Maybin, defensive back Cameron Sutton, running back Alvin Kamara and linebacker Curt Maggitt decide to return. The Vols did not lean heavily on upperclassmen this season, so they should return an experienced lineup even if they lose a couple of standouts to early entry in the NFL draft. A standout sophomore class led by Hurd, Derek Barnett, Evan Berry and Todd Kelly Jr. -- among others -- will be juniors in 2016, and that should mean great things for Tennessee.