Tennessee reached bowl eligibility Saturday night, defeating South Alabama 60-14 at Neyland Stadium.
The Vols jumped out to a 14-0 first quarter lead and a 35-7 halftime lead before cruising in the second half. Except for a one play drive at the end of the first half, every single drive Hendon Hooker was in ended in a Tennessee touchdown.
The senior quarterback totaled as many touchdowns as he did incompletions in the win.
Tennessee is now 6-5 (3-4 SEC) with a matchup with instate rival Vanderbilt still on the schedule. The Vols are bowl eligible for the first time since 2019 and can be the fifth Tennessee team to win seven or more regular season games since 2007 with a win next weekend.
“Important, for sure,” Heupel said on the Vols reaching bowl eligibility. “I don’t think there’s anyone inside our program— this is going to sound odd— was focused on that part of it. It’s not what I talked about. I don’t think our focus was from our players. It was truly on South Alabama, but on us continuing to grow and compete.
“It’s big for us because it continues to build the momentum we’ve had going over the course of the season. It gives you opportunities to continue and compete into December and grow, particularly with your young players and some development that happens there. That’s really important in year one.”
Heupel also discussed the differences in pace from both offenses, a strong bounce back performance from Hendon Hooker and the use of Tennessee’s tight ends in the passing game.
