Tennessee Football Overlook - Vols Under Revival Stretch Under Josh Heupel

Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel communicates with an official during the third quarter at FirstBank Stadium in Nashville, Tenn., Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024. | Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Tennessee seems to have found their guy in Josh Huepel who has returned the Volunteers football program to relevance 

Tennessee football will enter its fifth season under head coach Josh Heupel, who has done a great job returning the program to relevance. During his time in Knoxville, the Volunteers have a record of 37-15. Before Heupel arrived, the Volunteers had finished with a losing record in three of their previous four seasons. 

When Heupel arrived for the 2021 season, he was taking over a team that finished the previous season 3-7 and needed a major culture shift. Heupel had an okay first year, finishing the season 7-6 and losing in the Music City Bowl.

Fans were unsure what to think of their new coach after an average year, but he put any doubters to rest in just his second year at the helm. In the 2022 season, the Volunteers finished 11-2, marking their best record since 2001. They were ranked as the number-one team in the College Football Playoff rankings during the season and finished sixth in the final AP poll. 

However, the most important part of the 2022 season was the Volunteers' game against Alabama in Knoxville, which ended in a 52-49 win. The victory ended a 15-game losing streak to the Crimson Tide. 

Heupel followed this up with a 9-4 season in 2023. Even with the small step back, this would have been the Volunteers' best record since 2016. Tennessee once again finished the season ranked in the final AP poll, which it failed to do from 2017 to 2021.

In his fourth year, Heupel earned the Volunteers their first appearance in the College Football Playoff. Despite the first-round exit (to the eventual champs), the Volunteers have now finished the last three seasons in the top 25 of the AP poll and finished in the top 10 in two of those years. 

Heupel has not yet been able to win the biggest games of the season, but he has certainly righted the ship in Knoxville and returned the Volunteers football program to relevance. 

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