Photos:Tennessee Athletics
There’s one game on Tennessee’s schedule that doesn’t get talked about nearly enough — and it might be the most important one for Josh Heupel this season.
Imagine your former offensive coordinator walking into Neyland Stadium in Year 1 at his new job with Auburn and walking out with a win. That alone would sting. Add in everything else surrounding this matchup and it becomes something much bigger.
A lot of fans, myself included, have wondered whether the offense has lost some of its edge and aggression since Alex Golesh left for a head coaching job. The unit is still good — sometimes very good — but that “we’re going to drop 50 on you before you know what hit you” identity from 2022 feels different now. Some of that is understandable. Tennessee has broken in a new quarterback every year since then, and the portal makes roster continuity harder than it used to be. Still, the intensity and creativity haven’t felt quite the same.
Look at the Florida game last year. Credit where it’s due: Tennessee went into the Swamp for the first time in decades and came away with a convincing win. But it’s fair to ask whether the second half looks the same if Golesh is still calling the plays.
That’s the heart of this. If Golesh brings that same aggressive offense into Neyland and hangs a big number on a Tennessee team still adjusting to a brand-new defense under Jim Knowles, the reaction will be ugly. Fans already wondering whether Heupel can take the next step will not take it well. It would land a lot like the Vanderbilt loss did at the end of last season — the kind of result that sucks the air out of the fan base.
Heupel is a competitor to his core. He knows what this game means. Win it and the negative storylines disappear. Lose it, especially if the season finishes around the Vegas number of 7.5 wins, and this is the game people will point back to when the patience starts wearing thin. The seat wouldn’t be hot overnight, but it would start warming up.
The staff and the players have to get this one. There isn’t another option.