Tennessee’s Outback Bowl win proves Vols are SEC East favorites for 2016
The Tennessee Volunteers dominated the Northwestern Wildcats in the Outback Bowl and showed why they should be the favorite to win the SEC East in 2016.
It’s been a steady built for Tennessee head coach Butch Jones during his time with the Vols. He’s built the roster from the ground up with great, bordering on elite, recruiting classes and the win-loss record has been reflective of the talent on the roster.
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All the four and five-star talent on the roster comes with expectations, however, sometimes unfair expectations and that was the case for Jones and the Vols in 2015 when many picked them to win the East and at SEC Media Days were picked to finish behind the Georgia Bulldogs.
I saw the upside and the potential in this team, but I didn’t think it would materialize this fast and see the Vols win the East in 2015 and thought they were one year ahead of schedule because 2016 should be their year. They showed they were close with an overtime loss to Oklahoma, one-point loss at Florida, four-point loss vs. Arkansas and a five-point loss at Alabama. That’s an impressive group of losses.
The 45-6 Outback Bowl win over Northwestern doesn’t mean a lot, because the Wildcats aren’t very good, but the win will once again have people drinking the Orange Kool-Aid after closing their year with seven wins in the last eight games.
This Tennessee evisceration of Northwestern just doesn't seem fair. Tennessee will and should be favorite in SEC East.
— Paul Finebaum (@finebaum) January 1, 2016
The offense has stability with Joshua Dobbs returning at quarterback after starting the last year and a half, running back Jalen Hurd is the second best player at his position in the SEC, behind Leonard Fournette and Alvin Kamara offers a dynamic complement.
The receiver position is stacked with talented players like Marquez North, Preston Williams, Jauan Jennings and Josh Malone who are waiting to breakout and tight end Ethan Wolf could challenge for All-SEC honors.
If the passing game takes off — as it should — the Vols offense will have balance with Hurd and Kamara poised to be the best rushing duo in the SEC.
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But the primary reason I thought 2015 was too soon for the Vols to contend for the East was the lack of experience on the offensive and defensive lines. They were relying on too many first-year starters and underclassmen and you’re not going to win in the SEC with youth on both lines.
However, next year that youth will have a year’s worth of experience and growth that will make both the offensive and defensive lines strengths, and that’s exactly what you need to contend for SEC championships.
Tennessee won’t waltz right to Atlanta to play in the SEC Championship Game because they still have a decade-long losing streak to the Florida Gators that needs to be snapped, but the Gators aren’t world-beaters and have a massive question mark at quarterback with the departure of Will Grier. Treon Harris is wildly inconsistent, Luke Del Rio may get a chance to start after sitting out this year after transferring from Oregon State, but Tennessee has the advantage here.
They also have the advantage in the coaching department with Jones having a leg up on first-time head coaches Kirby Smart at Georgia and Barry Odom at Missouri. And despite Will Muschamp getting the best of Jones and Tennessee during his time at Florida, I don’t think the Vols need to be worried about the South Carolina Gamecocks next year.
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It really comes down to one game against Florida on Sept. 24 in Neyland Stadium and if the Vols can exercise their demons against the Gators and win for the first time in 12 games. If they do that, they hype will be justified in 2016. If they don’t they will be one of the most overrated teams in the preseason, just like the Auburn Tigers were in 2015.