You look at the calendar—it’s October 15, 2022. Tensions are heating up as you grab the remote swiftly, turning the dial until you reach the right channel. The game is on, and as a Volunteer fan you’re beside yourself—they’re gonna be crushed. Play after play, you watch in fervor as Tennessee is embarrassed on the field. This is so disappointing. About to turn the game off, your eyes light up as UT Knoxville scores another touchdown, officially upsetting University of Alabama (one of the most notorious teams in the whole franchise).
University of Tennessee’s Volunteers have been on fire for this consecutive season. Similarly to University of Georgia’s repositioning of Alabama last year, the Vols have come in to take the title. Starting the season off strong, the Vols swept Ball State with a 59-10 lead. After that, they’ve continually crushed their opponents, gaining them an 8-0 undefeated streak. The SEC Conference (mainly the Southern half of the United States’ football teams) has changed quite frequently in the last few years. University of Alabama’s Crimson Tide ruled the conference for a good number of years, remaining untouchable at the number 1 spot. Last year, UGA’s Bulldogs took home the whole season by winning in the CFP Championship game. Since then, eyes have been on Georgia until recently when Tennessee contributed to a large upset that turned the public’s eye. UT Knoxville—in my opinion—has a good chance of making it quite far in the season. If they can somehow manage to beat UGA on November 15th, the rest of the regular season will be like child’s play.
UT’s flashiness and 102,000 capacity Neyland Stadium with screaming fans has helped bring them a boatload of popularity. New and upcoming country star Morgan Wallen is also an avid fan of Tennessee, and so more and more people are starting to pay attention to them. It’s hard to say how they’ll play for the rest of the season, but if they keep doing their thing, the dial will be turnt up to 100.