No Bowl for the Vols, but All is Not Lost.

In one of the ugliest games I have ever witnessed, the Tennessee Vols lost another heartbreaker to the Vanderbilt Commodores Saturday night at a score of 14-10. For your sake, I won't go into any detail about any calls or plays to avoid any sort of personal anger that is still there. To make things worse, this loss makes a total of 7 for the Vols, which means they will not be eligible for a bowl for the 3rd straight year.  With one game left to play against Kentucky in Lexington this coming Saturday, the general consensus around campus and the fan base is that there is nothing left for this team to play for.  In fact, many are predicting a loss to Kentucky based on the prediction that the Vols will play with no motivation now that a bowl is out of reach, and if this were last year, you would be right.

However, all hope is not lost.  Sure, there isn't a bowl game to play for anymore, but there are still many incentives for this team to play strong in their last game.  First and foremost, it would reflect poorly on this team and coaching staff if they were to lay an egg against Kentucky, and that's something that this team's future can not afford to do.  The best thing going for this team right now is their future.  More specifically, the 2014 recruiting class is one of very few bright spots this team can claim this year. Sitting at #2 by most recruiting services, Butch Jones and this coaching staff have racked up 33 commitments that come from all corners of the US, while one linebacker was actually born in Germany.  If the Vols were to tank the last game due to lack of motivation, it's almost guaranteed that a few of these 33 commits will rethink the future of this team after such a performance.  

Another reason for not throwing the last game is because of momentum.  This Vols teams is in a very similar state as last year's team, as they are heading into the last game of the year against Kentucky looking for a 5th win.  While certain circumstances are not the same (i.e. Dooley was just fired, Chaney was the interim coach, etc.), there is still a chance for this team to end on a high note.  Coach Jones mentioned this morning in his daily press conference that he and his team hope to be "1-0" after Saturday.  To me, this is exactly the mentality that teams in this situation should have.  While playing for a bowl birth is gone, there is still a game to be played that counts towards your win-loss record.  The seniors and other leaders of this team will not let anyone take the day off just because a bowl is out of the question; they will still be motivated to play 60 minutes and walk away from Lexington with a victory. 

Finally, the Vols are playing Kentucky, who has only beaten Tennessee 3 times since 1980.  If I know Butch Jones like I think I do, and I have met Butch, he will not let this Saturday be the 4th time in 33 years.  Butch and the Vols will take care of business this Saturday because, well, it's what we do to Kentucky.  Plus, a Tennessee Vols football team has never lost 8 games in a season.  If Butch hopes to stay very long here in Knoxvegas, he needs to avoid becoming the first UT coach to "accomplish" this unfortunate feat. My prediction for this Saturday? Vols win handily through the run game and a breakout performance by Dobbs, 31-10.

Told ya. That's right... be jealous.