For Tennessee, an 8-4 season and a 5-3 record and a tie for second in the SEC East could be viewed as a successful season in Knoxville. This can be true even in light of all the preseason hype and expectations: not many had the Vols above second in that half of the conference.
However, coming off Saturday’s 53-28 beatdown of Vanderbilt, it is a season of what could have been for Tennessee.
The Volunteers had Oklahoma, which will likely still be in the top four of the playoff rankings, on the rope. Then, they let them slip off with some Baker Mayfield heroics. After Tennessee claimed a 17-3 halftime lead, the Vols were not able to generate anything in the second half. A dropped pass which would have led to a touchdown proved to be a pivotal moment in that game. The Sooners gained belief and gradually turned things around. Oklahoma scored back-to-back touchdowns in the fourth quarter to force overtime and win the game.
That come-from-ahead loss wasn’t just an isolated event; it was also a trend for the season, as the still-young Vols were not able to finish games, despite their talent and their ability to put teams in scoreboard holes in each of their losses.
They had Florida left for dead two weeks after the OU loss, and allowed a 63-yard touchdown reception by Antonio Callaway from Will Grier. The Vols allowed the Gators to escape with a one-point win after owning a 27-14 fourth-quarter lead.
The Arkansas loss was not a blown lead, but the Vols had plenty of opportunities to win the game, as the deficit was a single score for the entire fourth quarter. They were just not able to break through and win the game.
Tennessee even had Alabama on the ropes, until Derrick Henry scored with 2:24 remaining in the game, to give the Tide a five-point victory.
Tennessee beat Georgia in a one-score game, but outside of that, it was a pretty vanilla schedule for the Vols. However, they did what they needed to do against the softer part of the slate. The biggest questions is: What could have been if the squad was able to finish in big games?
Junior quarterback Joshua Dobbs has plenty of experience — he has gained playing time since he was a freshman. He will return next season, but there has to be some progression for the story to be different in 2016. Dobbs tossed for 2,125 yards and 15 touchdowns, but also completed just 59.9 percent of his passes and threw five interceptions.
Dobbs uses his legs well — he rushed for 623 yards and nine more touchdowns. However, he was sacked 19 times in 12 games. That is puzzling for a mobile quarterback who is supposed to be playing behind a strong line. The weaker completion percentage also hinders a team from converting key third downs late in close games, which became an issue in those losses.
Tailback Jalen Hurd will also be back next season. Hurd was consistent game in and game out for the Vols since playing as a true freshman last season. Hurd has shown how much of a threat he is out of the backfield as a receiver as well. After rushing for 899 yards last season, Hurd rushed for 1,158 yards this campaign. His per-carry averages are 4.7 last season and 4.6 this season. For the season, Hurd had only three games under 80 yards rushing.
The defense played as expected in 2015 for Tennessee, despite some injuries. The unit certainly kept the squad in games, but is just as guilty of blowing various opportunities as the offense. Jalen Reeves-Maybin proved to be one of the stronger tackling linebackers in the nation this season; he really made up for the loss of Curt Maggitt.
Had September and early October played out differently, we could be talking about Tennessee as contenders for the playoff and preparing for Alabama this Saturday. However, the Vols do not receive a mulligan; it becomes of season of what could have been.
