In three seasons, Butch Jones’ greatest crime as Tennessee’s coach has been making good progress while flirting so heavily with great progress that good progress can sometimes feel left out.
2013 saw Jones earn the ranked victory that eluded Derek Dooley for three years when the Vols beat #11 South Carolina in mid-October. Tennessee also just missed an even bigger victory against #6 Georgia in heartbreaking fashion, then gave up a 92-yard drive in the final minutes to Vanderbilt to miss bowl eligibility by a hair.
2014 saw the Vols fully and finally transition to Josh Dobbs at quarterback, with the team responding with an epic comeback at South Carolina, the program’s first bowl appearance since 2010, and then a 45-28 rout of Iowa in the Taxslayer Bowl, the program’s first bowl win since 2007.