If you're looking for tickets to board the Tennessee hype train they are still available in bundles. Longtime ESPN writer Ivan Maisel has become the latest to hop on the train to Titletown and Knoxville. During Tuesday's Championship Drive podcast, Maisel compared this orange and white team to another that had a huge breakout season last year in Clemson.
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Alabama and LSU have been mentioned as top contenders for the College Football Playoffs from the SEC, but Maisel believes that the Vols are due for their breakout season much like Clemson. However, the Tigers had four straight 10-win seasons before making it to the National Championship game while the Vols haven't had one since 2007.
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Regardless of that fact, Maisel says that this Volunteer team is on the verge of breaking through and making it to the College Football Playoff.
"It's not just the orange that makes me think of Clemson when I look at Tennessee but it's the hunger to be right on the cusp of breaking through. I think all four of those losses in that 9-4 season a year ago, Tennessee had the lead in the fourth quarter in all four of those games."
Maisel then asked Tennessee alum and co-host Chris Low what he thought about the team this year. While Low was not as excited about his team potentially making the CFP, he did say that the Vols received a huge upgrade this summer in the form of a coach and not any player.
"One of the big differences in this team from last year, and I give Butch Jones all the credit in the world for going out and doing this, he went out and didn't sit pat and shook up the staff. He brought in Bob Shoop to run his defense... Who to me is one of the four or five best defensive coordinators in college football. The way he makes adjustments in game, the way he uses his personnel, the way he comes at you from all sort of different angles... I think Bob is a big reason they'll be able to (close out games) this year."
If Shoop can get the defense to close out games better than it did last year then Low should be getting pretty amped about this season. The defense should be even better and the team returns 17 starters on both sides of the ball so the offense will be pretty good as well assuming quarterback Josh Dobbs has some receivers to throw too and he's worked on his accuracy.
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This team should be ready to play in the spotlight this season and not meltdown in the fourth quarter like it did so many times last season. The defense is going to be nasty and as long as the offense can put up even 24 points a game then the Vols should be just fine and get to that elusive tenth win this season.
[h/t Saturday Down South]
