The 2015 Tennessee Volunteers were a team that could not finish.
They coughed up a two-touchdown lead against Oklahoma in the fourth quarter, blew a 13-point, fourth-quarter lead against Florida and squandered an early 14-0 edge against Arkansas.
The 2016 Volunteers are a team that cannot lose.
Oh, they’ve tried. They’ve wrapped themselves up in chains and jumped headfirst into a water tank while the other team padlocked the lid. And then the final buzzer goes off, the curtains drawn back, and there is an orange-clad Butch Jones smiling with his arms in the air. Ta-da!
“What can I say,” Jones said.
He doesn’t have to say much because we all saw Tennessee recover from its out-of-breath moment: Jauan Jennings leaping in the end zone to bring down a 43-yard Hail Mary heave from Joshua Dobbs with no time left to beat Georgia 34-31 on Saturday in Athens, Ga.
Not only did the Vols overcome an early 17-0 deficit, they survived the Dawgs’ go-ahead 47-yard touchdown pass with 10 seconds left. Who does that?
“We have the most competitive team in the nation, I feel like,” Dobbs said. “We find ways to win, fight it out — adversity has been thrown our way each and every game.”
He has that right.
Tennessee needed overtime to beat Appalachian State in its opener. The Vols were down 14-0 to Virginia Tech after one quarter. They were up only two points to Ohio in the fourth quarter. They were down 21-0 to Florida before winning 38-28.
“There’s something about this team,” Jones said. “They’re resilient.”
They’ve been good. They’ve been lucky.
No need to apologize for that.
Ask 2013 Auburn. The Prayer at Jordan-Hare. The Kick Six. Those Tigers went on to play for the national title. No asterisk needed.
Tennessee right now is college football’s team of destiny. But check back in a week. The 5-0 and ninth-ranked Vols play at 5-0 and eighth-ranked Texas A&M this Saturday. Then, No. 1 Alabama heads to Knoxville on Oct. 15.
The party could soon be over. Jones is duct-taping his defense together because of injuries to three All-SEC-caliber players — cornerback Cam Sutton, linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin and middle linebacker Darrin Kirkland Jr. Sutton and Reeves-Maybin could still be out for a while. Kirkland reportedly has a chance to play against Texas A&M.
But the Vols keep marching on and they have now won 11 consecutive games. They have defeated ranked teams in consecutive games for the first time since 1999. They are 5-0 for the first time since 1998.
Everything in the offseason — including 19 returning starters from a nine-win team — pointed toward this being THE year for Tennessee.
Lucky and good is a great way to go through life.
“At the end of the day, the best you can be is 5-0,” Jones said, “and we’re 5-0.”