Down time allows for fans to sit and ponder things about their teams, analyze every tidbit of information (and rumor) seeping through the cracks of their programs and ask questions about the future, and it's no different for Tennessee football.
Sure, it's fantastic that the Vols finished the season 8-4 after a rough start, and the Outback Bowl is an enviable destination for a program that has downcycled for nearly a decade. But now that the doldrums of binge-losing seem to be behind UT, the fans want definitive answers.
This is a program used to winning. A lot.