Tennessee fourth-year coach Josh Heupel is hoping for as much normalcy as possible these next two weeks amid a postseason landscape that is very, very different.
This isn’t a trip to the Music City Bowl.
Heupel’s Volunteers are among the 12 teams to qualify for the newly expanded College Football Playoff, and they will open as the ninth seed taking on eighth-seeded Ohio State in Columbus. The two 10-2 programs will vie Saturday, Dec. 21, with ESPN televising the game shortly after 8 p.m.
Not since the Vols downed Florida State 23-16 to win the BCS national championship game of the 1998 season in the Fiesta Bowl have they played a postseason contest with a national title still in the picture.
“We play in a great conference, and we play elite programs throughout the course of the season,” Heupel said on a Zoom call. “We have to understand that this is a great opportunity, and when you get into the postseason, you’re playing games like this. You’ve got to do the ordinary things at a really high level.
“This will not be about some magical play that’s going to be the difference in the game. It’s about the fundamentals — technique, eye discipline and playing within the structure of what you’re doing in any three phases of the game.”
The closest Tennessee has come to playing for a national championship since its 1998 crown was the 2001 Southeastern Conference title contest, when a win over LSU would have resulted in the Vols playing Miami for that season’s BCS pairing in the Rose Bowl. Tennessee built a 17-7 lead against Nick Saban’s Tigers, but LSU rallied for a 31-20 triumph.
Tennessee has played in two Cotton Bowls, one Fiesta Bowl and one Orange Bowl since its 1998 crown, but there were no national championship implications for the Vols in those pairings.
The Vols practiced a couple of times last week, according to Heupel, who said the focus was mostly on the younger players in those workouts. Given that Ohio State, Penn State and even Texas were potential first-round foes for Tennessee, Heupel said that the coaches didn’t start studying film of the Buckeyes until Sunday.
Tennessee players received treatment Sunday and were scheduled to begin their film study Monday.
“It’s all about the preparation and the lead up, and these are the same messages that our guys hear throughout the season,” Heupel said. “That has been what this group has done. They’ve earned the right to play in a game like this, and now it’s about our preparation and making sure we’re at our best when we get there. It’s a different season, and you’ve got to play your way into this.
“Now it’s about taking advantage of the opportunity we have. The only thing that matters is that Saturday night inside of that stadium in Columbus, Ohio. We’ve played in big games, and we’ve got to go be ready to handle everything that we’re going to face that night.”
Mays a finalist
Vols fifth-year senior Cooper Mays was named Monday among the three finalists for the Rimington Trophy, which is awarded annually to college football’s most outstanding center.
Mays is the first Rimington finalist for Tennessee since the award’s inception in 2000. Western Michigan’s Jacob Gideon and Ohio State’s Seth McLaughlin are the other finalists.
A four-year starter, the 6-foot-4, 310-pounder from Kingston has played a team-high 816 offensive snaps this season, according to Pro Football Focus, without allowing a sack or a quarterback hit. Mays has gone 26 consecutive games without yielding a sack, which dates back to the 2022 season.
The Vols produced the SEC’s top rushing attack for the second consecutive season, averaging 232.0 yards per contest, and they have averaged 462.9 total yards per game to rank second in the league and ninth nationally.
Nimrod to portal
Tennessee lost its sixth player to the NCAA transfer portal Monday evening, with redshirt sophomore receiver Chas Nimrod the latest to leave.
The 6-3, 202-pounder from Bentonville, Arkansas, played in all 12 regular-season games this year, amassing 10 receptions for 121 yards.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com.