The Vols just needed to defeat South Carolina and Vanderbilt in order to relax back and enjoy championship weekend from their sofa, given the recent upheaval in college football. A spot in the College Football Playoff would very certainly be secured if they win both games.
What does Tennessee do as a result? They didn’t just lose to South Carolina on Saturday; they were thoroughly exposed and humiliated, 63-38, demonstrating that coach Josh Heupel and his much-heralded offensive scheme just weren’t prepared for the big time.
After Tennessee closed the gap to 35-31 in the second half, South Carolina went on a scoring drive on its next four offensive attempts to score touchdowns. In the end, a South Carolina team that only managed 237 yards of offense against Florida the week before (and only 203 against Missouri at home on October 29) managed to rack up 606 yards against a team that many analysts and Vol fans had already picked to advance to the semifinals.
That will be noticeable.
In the second half of Tennessee’s defeat to South Carolina, head coach Josh Heupel reviews the scoreboard.
The way this season unfolded was a rare opportunity, even though it was an overall net positive for the Vols after the clown show that this program has been for the last 15 seasons. Under Heupel, the Vols enjoyed victories against Alabama and LSU and at times seemed offensively unbeatable. Their case for the playoffs was compelling even with just a little assistance.
But Tennessee, a team that was favored by three touchdowns, simply crumbled under pressure and suffered one of the most lopsided defeats in modern times. Hendon Hooker, the quarterback, appeared to sustain a fairly serious leg injury as a result in the fourth quarter.
This means that in a matter of hours, pretty much every dream that Tennessee fans had for this season—including a spot in the playoffs and a win for Hooker—was dashed. And to think, all they needed to do was defeat Vanderbilt and South Carolina.
The Misery Index, a weekly indicator of which fan bases are most upset about the status of their team, has the Vols at the top this week for this reason.
Winners and losers: Tennessee slips; Michigan, TCU, escape tight calls
What you need to know about the Top 25 matchups in college football for Week 12
Four more people are suffering.
North Carolina: Now that basketball season has begun, Tar Heel supporters are no longer obligated to support the sport they despise. Their football team’s distant possibility of making the College Football Playoff heading into championship weekend would, however, have required at least a little of their attention throughout the holidays. But there’s no need to worry about it anymore. The Tar Heels’ 21-17 home defeat to Georgia Tech may have been their funniest performance of the year, giving supporters license to ignore whatever comes next.
Since fraud means that people believed this squad was truly capable of doing something exceptional, you can’t really label North Carolina a scam. The Tar Heels’ 9-1 record prior to this weekend was a castle made of sand; in actuality, they were always a team with a dubious defense. Fans of North Carolina can now fully concentrate on their team’s attempt to return to the Final Four after squandering a 17-0 lead against Georgia Tech. Georgia Tech’s hunt for a new coach will intensify over the next several weeks as a result of this loss.
Stanford: Recently, there has been more chatter about whether David Shaw’s time on The Farm may come to an end this year. It ought to be. The excitement and potential of what Stanford football can be are gone, whether it’s a dismissal (less probable) or Shaw leaving to pursue something else.
It’s amazing to consider how near Stanford came to competing for a national championship under Shaw between 2011 and 2015. It may have occurred three times with some luck. Stanford had a fun-to-watch antidote that just wanted to beat the heck out of people at the line of scrimmage as college football changed into a more open game.
However, those times are over and have been for a long. After losing against Cal by a score of 27–20, Stanford’s record fell to 3–8 overall and 1–8 in the Pac–12, their poorest campaign under Walt Harris since 2006. (who was fired that year). Shaw’s reign has certainly come to an end after having a losing record for the third time in four seasons.
Michigan State: It seems strangely fitting for a coach whose contract completely upended the compensation scale for collegiate football to return the following season while skipping the playoffs. Mel Tucker’s Spartans will be 5-6 when they go to Penn State next weekend after being upset by Indiana 39-31 in double overtime.
Mel Tucker, the head coach of Michigan State, watching the Indiana game from the sidelines.
Tucker’s 10-year, $95 million deal, which he won for surpassing expectations last season, seems to be the sports equivalent of cryptocurrencies: all hype, with little more than the speculative idea that the commodity would appreciate.
To be honest, it would be naive to discount Tucker as a Big Ten force in the long run. Since Michigan State is not a prestigious university, there will be some ups and downs. Tucker’s ability to properly manage them, however, is completely unknown, despite the fact that he is being paid like a national championship-winning coach.
Tucker shouldn’t be held to that standard. However, achieving consistent results from year to year is a necessary component of being a truly strong program and holding the top contract that his more accomplished counterparts do. It’s going to be a difficult decade for the Spartans if Tucker can’t perform that better than he did this season.
Florida: Do you recall when we discussed quarterback Anthony Richardson as a potential Heisman Trophy winner and the Gators as a surprising SEC East contender? In reality, Florida’s 29-26 victory against Utah on Sept. 3 marked the beginning of the Billy Napier era for them.
But what has transpired afterwards is not desirable. As bland and unimpressive as a blue-blood program can be are the Gators. The Gators are 6-5 and on the verge of one of those seasons that have led to the dismissal of a number of previous Florida coaches after losing to Vanderbilt, yes, Vanderbilt, 31-24. This is only the second time since 1988 that this has happened.
That won’t happen with Napier, of course. He’s in his first year, and it was known when he started that Dan Mullen’s program had lost some of its talent. Nevertheless, Florida! After Florida State’s game against a hot Florida State next week, it’s probable that Florida will finish 6-6, which is impossible. In spite of recording top-15 results in each of his first three seasons, this is a school that dismissed Will Muschamp after his fourth season, Jim McElwain halfway through his third season, and Dan Mullen halfway through his fourth season.
Napier should be aware that time is running out and that the clock is already ticking. His seat will be as hot as Chernobyl if he doesn’t compete at the top of the SEC next season.
Not really miserable, but nevertheless terrible
Mississippi: It’s understandable that the Rebels were absolutely lifeless in a 42-27 defeat at Arkansas after missing a significant chance last week against Alabama and spending this week listening to endless reports that Lane Kiffin is being courted by Auburn. In reality, Arkansas led 42-6 early in the third quarter, but the final score didn’t even do it credit. But over the last 25 years, Ole Miss has consistently delivered that. The Rebels are suddenly hit in the face with reality just when it seems they are about to succeed.
Nebraska: The Cornhuskers outperformed Wisconsin for roughly 59 minutes. But on Saturday, it didn’t matter. Naturally, it didn’t. This program requires large, bold action with its next coaching hiring to save it from eternal oblivion. Nebraska’s misery seems to never end, and a 15-14 defeat to the Badgers proves it. Despite the fact that it was only one game, the frustration of the previous several years can be seen in the fact that the team conceded the game-winning touchdown with 35 seconds left after leading 14-3 early in the fourth quarter. With a 3-8 record, Nebraska’s issues go beyond Scott Frost or interim head coach Mickey Joseph. Otherwise, the Huskers will be seen in the future not as a historic blue-blood going through a rough patch, but as irreparable losers with little chance of reclaiming its swagger. The whole mentality and ethos of the program must shift.
Baylor: The Bears, who had a large lead of 28-20 late in the fourth quarter, were the most recent club to succumb to TCU’s enchantment, losing 29-28 on a walk-off field goal. With a record of 6-5, Baylor can no longer expect to change the course of this season. Undoubtedly, it is a letdown. However, having the opportunity to terminate dreaded rival TCU’s playoff dreams, only to have it snatched away at the very last moment, will be a harsh reality to deal with for the next 12 months.
Rutgers: Greg Schiano built one of the most impressive programs in the history of college football between 2001 and 2011, but there is little reason to believe that coach can do it again. Rutgers is currently 6-20 in the Big Ten under Schiano after a 55-10 defeat against Penn State at home and will end the season with a losing record for the third consecutive season. The only victories for this Rutgers squad were against Boston College, Wagner, Temple, and Indiana despite having a terrible offense. It’s difficult to argue that there is a chance of being significant in the Big Ten if that is the best you can muster.
Nevada: The Wolfpack has established a solid argument this season as the weakest club in FBS after four consecutive winning seasons under Jay Norvell. Nevada is now 2-9 overall and 0-7 in the Mountain West, both firsts for this program, and it has also failed to score 21 points seven times. Under first-year coach Ken Wilson, who was hired in large part because he worked as an assistant at Nevada from 1989 to 2012, it is a stunning stretch of offensive failure.
