Randy Smith: Who'da Thunk It?

An old friend of mine who lives in middle Tennessee and is a lifelong Vanderbilt fan sent me a text Sunday, saying," It's the end of Western Civilization as we know it." He's referring to Vandy's historic 40-35 win over top-ranked Alabama....a win that shocked the entire college football world. It came on what can only be described as " upset Saturday." In addition to Vandy's upset of the Crimson Tide, 4th ranked Tennessee was upset by Arkansas, #6 Missouri was blown out by #25 Texas A&M, and it's a fact that since the season started,eight teams that were ranked in the top-ten have lost at least one game.

Is parity in college football the main factor? I believe it is. The SEC teams that have one loss already have little margin for error the rest of the way if they make the twelve team playoffs. As for Tennessee, I still think they can get in with a pair of losses but other teams are also going to have to lose a pair of games. The Vols have to beat either Alabama or Georgia and everybody else on the schedule to have a chance.

After starting the year 3-0, with a record setting offense, Tennessee has been less than impressive in their last two games....a 25-15 win at Oklahoma and the 19-14 loss at Arkansas. Against the Razorbacks, the defense wasn't great but they played well enough to win. It was the offense that was flat, unenthused, and just plain bad. The offense against Oklahoma was better than it was against Arkansas but with Florida and Alabama coming up in the next two weeks, it's imperative for the Big Orange to get things together.

Quarterback Nico Iamaleava looked nothing like the Heisman Trophy contender he was in the first three weeks of the season. His passes were off as he missed receivers all night long and he was sacked several times because his receivers just couldn't get open. He also made several bad decisions including on the last play of the game when he ran out of bounds, scrambling as time ran out. coming up short by a yard on a 4th down and 5 play. It's almost as if the Volunteers have forgotten how to play offense.

Arkansas has had the Vols number for the last decade or so. The Hogs have won four straight times against the Volunteers dating back to 2007....the last time Tennessee won a game in the series. Getting things together for the Gators and Crimson Tide over the next couple of weeks could be tough to do but a pair of wins will work wonders for Tennessee's playoff hopes.