Big Orange Report December 4, 2025

 


Taking it to the Banks

There were probably very few Volunteer fans who were really shocked and surprised by the defensive collapse and meltdown in the embarrassing loss to Vanderbilt to put the lid on a mediocre regular season. The porous defensive performances all the way back in September were warning signs that were only interrupted a couple of times on the road to getting humbled by Diego Pavia and the Commodores. In the final analysis, the Vol defense was not just sad, it was the worst showing by UT in decades. Tennessee was already at the bottom of almost every defensive statistic in the Southeastern Conference and Vandy sealed the deal for this season of failures and mistakes by the UT defense. For the first time since 20021, UT lost three home games during the regular season schedule.
The numbers jump off the page and the numbers don't lie. Vanderbilt rolled up 587 yards of total offense, including 319 yards on the ground. Pavia punctured the Vols by rambling for 165 yards rushing, averaging a gaudy 8.2 yards per carry. The 45 points put up in lights by Vandy was the highest total against Tennessee since 1923. The Commodores averaged 9.0 yards per offensive snap in the blowout victory.
Did the Vol players mail it in early in the second half? Who knows,  Tennessee had run the ball effectively in the first two quarters but had minus 6 yards rushing after intermission. Joey Aguilar was under constant pressure and was sacked four times in the defeat.
Tennessee finishes the regular season in ninth place in the conference standings and were just .500 in the league at 4-4. The calls for a change at defensive coordinator are echoing loud and clear across the Volunteer state and standing pat might not be the best policy for Josh Heupel to pursue.
Coach Heupel stated that he intended to launch an in-depth and complete review of the program and the coaching staff following the debacle against Vanderbilt.
Bowl Projection
Tennessee will have an opportunity to re-group and rebound, finishing the season on a positive note in a bowl game. The official announcements will come sometime this weekend. At this writing, three sites, including Sports Illustrated, have the Volunteers facing the high profile Miami team in the Gator Bowl on December 27. This matchup looks like the best case scenario for a UT revival to end the campaign with nine wins.
The Signing Window
Beginning Wednesday, the early signing period for football recruits opens for three days. Certainly, there is some fear and concern that the disaster against Vanderbilt could have a negative effect on some of the young men who have been committed to Tennessee prior to the weekend. The staff was also looking for a closing kick with about five other players and certainly their destinations now could be elsewhere. At this writing, the UT verbal commitment list still ranks in or near the top 10 projected classes this year.
Hoops Heating Up
The Tennessee men's and women's basketball teams are moving into the final contests against quality non-conference competition before league play gets underway. Rick Barnes' Vols have a high-profile showdown with Illinois in Nashville on Saturday. Tennessee and Syracuse faced off on Tuesday evening. The Music City battle with the Fighting Illini will be televised on ESPN at 7 CST. Next Tuesday the Vols will tangle with the Louisville Cardinals with ESPN handling the broadcast at 6 CST.
Coach Kim Caldwell's Lady Vols will complete a west coast swing on Wednesday at Stanford before taking an 11-day break. This contest between the two legendary programs can be seen at 8:15 on ESPN2. Tennessee was blown out by UCLA on Sunday in the worst loss for UT since Caldwell arrived last year.

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