Excitement for the third year of Josh Heupel’s run as the head coach of the Tennessee Volunteers has Big Orange fans around the globe eager for the start of the season coming up on Sept. 2 against Virginia.
The Vols finished the 2022 season as Orange Bowl champions with an 11-2 overall record including wins over Clemson, Alabama, Florida, and Kentucky. Tennessee now enters the 2023 season with a new veteran quarterback, some carryover from the receivers, an intact running back room, a shifted offensive line, a stout defensive line, more depth in the linebackers room, and more flexibility in the defensive backs room.
In some ways, the setup for Tennessee’s 2023 season is eerily familiar to the setup for the Vols’ 1998 season. Not in all ways, mind you, but certainly some. A big shoutout goes to Barstool Rocky Top on Twitter for originally noting many of the similarities online. Let’s dive a little deeper into each of the bullet points and see if any more pop up along the way.
Preseason Polls
As we at Rocky Top Insider noted last week, Tennessee landed at No. 10 in the 2023 American Football Coaches Association preseason poll. The Vols ranked fourth among the SEC teams listed behind Georgia, Alabama, and LSU. Additionally, Tennessee’s spot at No. 10 is the Vols’ highest coaches preseason poll position since 2016.
It was also the same entering the 1998 season, though.
Tennessee was ranked at No. 10 in the 1998 preseason coaches and AP polls behind notable names such as No. 1 Ohio State, No. 2 Florida State, and No. 3 Florida.
Previous Season (1997, 2022)
As mentioned previously, Tennessee finished the prior season with 11 wins for the first time since the 2001 campaign. The Vols finished the regular season at 10-2 with losses to Georgia and South Carolina before defeating Clemson in the Orange Bowl.
Tennessee also finished the 1997 season at 11-2 in the standings. While the Vols did it a little bit differently than Heupel’s 2022 squad with an 11-1 regular season record and a bowl loss, both teams still finished the season with the highly-coveted 11-2 record. What was the bowl game that Tennessee played in, though? …
Previous Bowl (1997, 2022)
The Tennessee football offseasons heading into the 1998 season and the 2023 season are both off the heels of an Orange Bowl appearance to close out the previous season. The No. 3-ranked Vols were defeated by the No. 2-ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers to close out the 1997 season at the old Miami Orange Bowl stadium.
The 2022 team, though, found victory in the 2022 Orange Bowl, defeating the Clemson Tigers by a score of 31-14.
More from RTI: How the Southern Classic ‘Waffle House’ Helped Lead John Campbell to Tennessee
Departures and Returners
While the previous records and bowl appearances are admittingly an interesting nugget when comparing both teams, arguably the biggest similarity between the two is at the quarterback position.
The 1998 season saw the full-time debut of quarterback Tee Martin leading the Volunteers’ offense after two years as the backup on Tennessee’s roster. The Vols were in the process of saying goodbye to Heisman-caliber quarterback Peyton Manning as many around the college football landscape wondered if the offensive success could be replicated by someone not named Manning.
There are plenty of similarities there with the current team.
The 2023 season will see the full-time re-debut of quarterback Joe Milton III leading the Volunteers’ offense after two years as the backup on Tennessee’s roster. The Vols are in the process of saying goodbye to Heisman-caliber quarterback Hendon Hooker as many around the college football landscape wonder if the offensive success can be replicated by someone not named Hooker.
Milton will still have to show how much he has improved over the course of the season for Tennessee to have a shot at postseason success, but the similarities are still nonetheless fascinating.
Tennessee is also looking to replace their top receiving threat from the season before with Marcus Nash (1997) and Jalin Hyatt (2022).
Nash led Tennessee with 1,170 yards and 13 touchdowns while Hyatt did the same with 1,267 yards and 15 touchdowns on the season. Both Nash and Hyatt finished in the Top 5 for receiving touchdowns and the Top 10 for receiving yards in their respective final seasons on Rocky Top.
So what do you think? Is this all a funny little coincidence or is there legitimacy to the idea that history repeats itself? What did we miss about either team, either similarly or differently? Sound off in the comments below!
1998 Tennessee / 2023 Tennessee
Both teams preseason coaches poll #10
Both 11-2 the previous year
Both teams played in the Orange bowl the year before
Both teams lost Heisman caliber QB’s to draft but had backup take starting role
The script. 🤫 pic.twitter.com/B8w1Plxood
— Barstool Rocky Top (@BarstoolTenn) August 9, 2023
5 Responses
I’m pretty sure TN lost to Nebraska in the 1997 Orange Bowl and not Miami.
1997 was beat by Nebraska in the bowl game.
It’s WAY TOO EARLY to even be thinking about this. Let’s see if Campbell can cover the blind side and what kind of year the secondary has…
Not arguing but the article said Nebraska at the Miami OB
The article noted that we were beat by Nebraska in the Orange Bowl in 1997, (in Miami). Not playing Miami. The comparison is definitely uncanny and I truly believe history will repeat itself! The VOLS will be 2023 National Champions! From exceptional play by bazooka Joe and the talented Tennessee squad. After losing Payton Manning in 1998 and top receiver Marcus Nash, no one thought we would do what we did. 2023 is 1998 all over again, just watch!