Overall
Daniel: This one’s tough. On one hand, it was an SEC road win with somewhat of a depleted roster, a quarterback who wasn’t throwing the ball well and a lot of pressure on their shoulders to make a bowl game for the first time since 2010. On the other, Vandy is a very bad football team that got blown out by Temple this year and struggled with the likes of Old Dominion and UMass. Truth is, I didn’t think Tennessee played a very good football game. There were several outside factors that played into that, but it’s still a reality. I give UT credit for getting the win – the sum of getting six wins and returning to a bowl will be big for this program. And more good news is they now have these bowl practices to try to get healthier and to correct some of the issues that cropped up against the Commodores. For a program that’s folded several other times in similar circumstances, that’s a great step, but I didn’t gain a ton of confidence in this team from that particular performance. Grade: C+
Houston: It was an ugly game, but it was a win. And it was a win that will now send this program bowling for the first time since 2010 and allow Butch Jones to sell tangible improvement to prospects, parents and coaches on the recruiting trail. These young players – and the early enrollees – will now get an extra fifteen practices that should really speed up their development heading into the 2015 season. As Butch Jones says, winning is fragile, and this team is learning how to win games when everything doesn’t go their way. They won one of those games last year, and have now won two such games in 2014. This team is improving, and last night showed it in ways other than what ended up on the scoreboard. Grade: B+
Reed: The Vols didn’t exactly go to Nashville and take care of business, but they did get the victory and earn a bowl berth. Bottom line: Tennessee made just enough plays to win a game they desperately had to have – something they haven’t done in a long time. Grade: B-
Average Grade: B
