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Anonymous coach to The Athletic: Tennessee has 'one of the best football teams I've seen in the last 10 years'

IMG_3593by: Grant Ramey10/17/24GrantRamey
Tennessee Football | Saul Young/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK
(Saul Young/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK) Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava (8) celebrates a touchdown at the NCAA College football game between Tennessee and NC State on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024 in Charlotte, NC.

One anonymous coach isn’t giving up on Tennessee Football after the Vols have shown their flaws over the last two weeks. The coach went as far as telling The Athletic that Tennessee still has one of the best teams in the country and that a national championship isn’t off the table. 

The Athletic quoted multiple anonymous coaches who have faced both No. 11 Tennessee and No. 7 Alabama, ahead of Saturday’s renewal of the Third Saturday in October rivalry at Neyland Stadium

“(Tennessee is) probably one of the best football teams I’ve seen in the last 10 years, honestly,” a coach told The Athletic. “This is a team that can win the national championship. They have enough pieces. 

“I was surprised they lost to Arkansas, but it’s hard to go undefeated. It might be the best thing that ever happened to them.”

Up Next: No. 11 Tennessee vs. No. 7 Alabama, Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET, ABC

Tennessee (5-1, 2-1 SEC) lost 19-14 at Arkansas two weeks ago. The Vols trailed 3-0 at halftime and rallied to take a 14-3 with back-to-back touchdown drives in the third quarter, only to watch the Razorbacks mount their own comeback from there. 

Last week was another shutout in the first half and another 3-0 deficit. This time it was against rival Florida, which built a 10-0 lead in the third quarter. Tennessee answered with 17 straight points to take the lead, but the Gators scored on a 26-yard touchdown on third-and-18 with 27 seconds left to force overtime. 

The Vols won in the first overtime on a 1-yard Dylan Sampson touchdown run, after Tennessee’s defense forced a 47-yard Florida field goal that went wide right on the opening possession.

Josh Heupel on Tennessee’s struggling offense: ‘We’re close on things’

Tennessee finished the Florida game with 312 total yards, the fewest in a win in the Josh Heupel era.

Nico Iamaleava completed 16 of 26 passes for 169 yards and an interception and the Vols rushed 43 times as a team for 143 yards and three touchdowns. Sampson carried the load on the ground, running 27 times for 112 yards and all three scores. 

Heupel said during his weekly press conference on Monday that, despite the recent struggles, the offense is “close” to fixing its issues.

“Certainly there’s big plays out there that we’re a little bit off on,” Heupel said. “But even just the run, some of our pass game that’s not vertically down the football field, we’re close on things. 

“Eleven guys got to fully operate as one. And the good thing is we have guys that can do it. We have guys that have already done it before. We got to prepare the right way, practice really well and take some steps. But we’re fully capable of being more efficient than we were.”

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