KNOXVILLE – Tennessee ended the 2019 regular season with five consecutive wins.
The Vols have also won six out of its last seven games – a turnaround following a 1-4 start to the season.
With two games remaining, Tennessee had the same record (5-5) as the Vols did last year in Jeremy Pruitt’s first season as head coach.
UT needed one win over Missouri or Vanderbilt to become bowl eligible last season in its final two contests.
The Vols lost both matchups last season, but Tennessee reversed course with the same scenario in 2019 and won both contests over Missouri and Vanderbilt to finish 7-5.
“Unless you were here the first day that I walked in this building, I don’t think you understand how far we actually have come,” Pruitt said of Tennessee’s turnaround following its victory over Vanderbilt in Week 14. “Coach (Phillip) Fulmer was here. It’s a long ways – I can assure you of that, and our guys, I’m excited for them, the way they feel, the confidence that they have. We’re playing with so much more confidence, believing in ourselves, believing in each other.
“You think about, over the last five wins, just the different points in the game where somebody stepped up, a unit stepped up and found a way. That’s what good football teams do. You’ve got to find a way, even when you’re maybe not playing at your best. I look at our assistant coaches, what they’ve done, keeping these guys together, keeping them believing and them finding a way, finding a way to get it done – and it’s been different guys.”