Defining moments from Tennessee’s 2023 football season

Tennessee's eight-win regular season garnered mixed reviews.

Coming off an 11-2 campaign which included wins over LSU, Florida and Alabama that put the Vols back in the national conversation before ending the season by beating Clemson in the Orange Bowl provided Josh Heupel's program expectations last offseason.

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After losing a number of key pieces from an offense that paced college football in nearly every statistical category, including quarterback Hendon Hooker and wide receivers Jalin Hyatt and Cedric Tillman to the NFL Draft, Tennessee was expected to take a step back.

The ceiling was 10 wins with a floor of eight and the realistic expectation of somewhere in the middle at 9-3.

Tennessee won nearly every game it was supposed to, but a loss to Florida in week 3 haunted its resume the rest of the season. The Vols came up short against Alabama after leading at halftime and looked pedestrian in late-season defeats vs. Missouri and Georgia.

It's impossible to look at the Vols' final record and not mention the plethora of injuries that began in fall camp and persisted through the final game. Tennessee had a near constant shuffle on the offensive line and at wide receiver midway through the season.

The linebacking corps lost transfer Keenan Pili after the opener, which forced sophomore Elijah Herring and freshmen Arion Carter and Jeremiah Telander to take on much bigger roles than what was expected. The secondary wasn't immune, either after losing Kamal Hadden who was in the middle of his most productive season with the Vols.

Still, there is an argument that Tennessee underperformed on both sides of the ball, which were at least part of the reason the Vols fell short of expectations.

For better or worse, here are the moments that defined Tennessee's season.

Vols' defense stifles Texas A&M: It had been awhile since Tennessee relied on its defense to win slugfest, especially in the Heupel era, which has been defined by high-scoring offenses that put up big numbers in a hurry. In a slugfest at Neyland Stadium, the Vols kept Texas A&M out of the end zone after giving up an early touchdown and then the secondary sealed the game twice with interceptions from Kamal Hadden and Gabe Jeudy-Lally in the final minutes of a 20-13 to being a tough stretch in the month of October.

Hadden interception headlines rout of South Carolina: In arguably the most anticipated game on Tennessee's schedule given the fact that it was South Carolina that knocked the Vols out of playoff contention last season, the favor was returned. It was still a one score game in the second quarter, but Hadden's intercepted Spencer Rattler and returned it for a touchdown just before halftime to open the way for a convincing 41-20 win.

Tennessee holds on in road win at Kentucky: There was a narrative about Tennessee's inability to win on the road. The Vols had already failed their first road test in their loss to Florida early in the season but put together a gutsy performance at Kentucky on Oct. 28 in Lexington. Charles Campbell was 5-for-5 on field goals and Dylan Sampson and Joe Milton III picked up first downs to ice the game on Tennessee's last drive, leading a 33-27 victory.

Vols shutout in second half vs. Alabama: Tennessee's best half of the season gave way to arguably its most frustrating loss at Alabama on Oct. 21. Milton passed for two touchdowns to build a 20-7 halftime lead. The Vols were shutout in the second half as the Crimson Tide scored 27 unanswered to hand Tennessee its second loss, 34-27.

Tennessee unraveling in second quarter leads to loss at Florida: Tennessee hasn't had much success in Gainesville historically, but the Vols entered their clash with Florida with possibly the best chance in 20 years to win in The Swamp. Instead, Tennessee collapsed in the second quarter with the Gators building a 26-7 lead en route to upsetting the Vols, 29-16.

The agony of victory: As exhilarating as Tennessee win over South Carolina was, it came at a tremendous cost. An energized Neyland Stadium fell silent in the second quarter after Bru McCoy fell awkwardly to the turf after a catch. He was carted off the field and the worst was confirmed the following day that he would miss the remainder of the season, striking a blow to the Vols' wide receivers room which was forced to play a number of freshmen in his absence.

Tennessee has one more opportunity to end its season on a positive note.

For the third-straight season, the Vols will play in a bowl game, with all signs pointing to the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl at TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville against North Carolina on Dec. 29.

The potential of nine wins could help improve the outlook of Tennessee's season and send it into the offseason with more momentum. It would also be the first time since 2015-16 that the Vols have won nine or more games in consecutive seasons.

There is still a possibility that the Vols could end up in the ReliaQuest Bowl in Tampa vs. Notre Dame, though a lot would have to happen in conference championship games on Saturday for that to happen.

Bowl games will be announced during the College Football Playoff Selection Show on Sunday at noon ET on ESPN.

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