The Orange Bowl Matters for Tennessee Football

Tennessee football etched a (10-2) record for the 2022 season, earning a spot in the historic Orange Bowl. The result of this game definitely matters.

Having done radio in the beautiful southeast Tennessee area for the last 11 years, there are certain topics that bubble up from the ether of public consciousness that require attention. Recently, a topic de jure has been whether or not this Orange Bowl game really matters to the Tennessee football program. Let me help you with this: It absolutely does matter.

The thinking here is fairly simple for those who believe the outcome of this game is not very weighty or substantive for future team success.

Most of the 2022 offensive production is not playing, due to injury and “opt-outs”, and a significant portion of the defensive production will be missing. So, let’s just kick back and see if we can’t get a glimpse of the future and players to be showcased and relied upon in 2023.

Now, this writer is not in the camp of thinking that bowl games are indicative, predictive, or portending of future success, necessarily. The reality is that, for the very reasons mentioned above, these games are kind of a “stand-alone” performance, if you will.

That said, to dismiss the importance of Tennessee football’s performance Friday night is a bit naive and, frankly, protective. It allows Vol Nation to win either way. A win and they can say, “the future is bright”.  A loss and they can say, “well, we didn’t have the whole team playing. We have all year to get better.”

And while that may be partially true, this game, and how Tennessee football performs in this game, most definitely matters for the program.

At issue is whether this (10-2) record is the new normal and standard in Knoxville, or was it just an outlier team, led by a Heisman trophy caliber Quarterback and two NFL-ready Wide Receivers? Has the needle moved that much on Rocky Top or did the team just put something special together only to regress to the mean in coming years?

While a win in Miami against Clemson, in the “orangest of all Orange Bowls”, doesn’t necessarily predict future success, and a loss doesn’t necessarily predict future failure, how they play most certainly does.

In this 21st century (2000-2021), the Tennessee Vols have appeared in 15 bowl games. Not one was a major bowl. In fact, the last major bowl game they played in was the Fiesta Bowl in 1999. It matters how they perform in this one.

In addition, while that (10-2) record is a very respectable one, and one that Coach Heupel and staff deserve all kinds of accolades for in just their 2nd year, the reality is that the Tennessee Vols were (3-2) in their last 5 games to end the regular season. Both losses were in distinctively embarrassing fashion. To go (3-3) to end the season, especially in a blowout, after such a magical start is definitely cause for concern moving forward.

The main point here is that, win or lose, regardless of who plays and who doesn’t, how this Tennessee football team competes in the Orange Bowl definitely matters. A blowout loss, or lackadaisical effort, means something.

These fifteen, or so, bowl practices need to mean something. The young men who are out there, and the coaches on the sideline, need to perform at a high level or the notion of possible regression becomes a valid narrative.

You play to win the game. I get that. We all get that. But in this case, a loss isn’t the end of the world. A win doesn’t mean Tennessee football has turned into world-beaters.

But high effort, execution, and performance under the bright lights Friday night, in the biggest bowl game the Tennessee Volunteers football program has played in over 22 years, does mean something.

Sometimes, it’s how you play the game, too. This is one of those times.