Exhale, Vol Nation.
Or as Tennessee head football coach Butch Jones would say in what has become another one of his many-mentioned cliches: "Snap and clear."
The Volunteers were far from dominant Alabama—nowhere close—in Thursday night's 20-13 overtime win over Appalachian State. But they also aren't in the same boat as LSU, Mississippi State, Vanderbilt, Kentucky or Auburn. All of those teams are 0-1. Arkansas narrowly escaped Louisiana Tech, 21-20, also.
So, UT isn't alone in the Week 1 woes. At least Jones' crew survived and is 1-0 heading into Saturday night's Battle at Bristol tilt against Virginia Tech that will be played at Bristol Motor Speedway.