How Tennessee football sort of reminds us (and sort of doesn't) of a past national champion
Three years ago, an SEC team and its transfer quarterback took college football by storm.
The 2019 LSU Tigers won the national championship behind an offense that no opponent could stop. Quarterback Joe Burrow won the Heisman Trophy. Offensive whiz Joe Brady was hailed a wunderkind for his scheme.
The Tigers went undefeated and averaged more than 48 points per game.
Tennessee's 2022 squad is saying: We see you, and we'll raise you.
Dazzling transfer quarterback Hendon Hooker has teamed with offensive mastermind Josh Heupel to lead the No.1 Vols in a stunning sprint up the polls and to an 8-0 record entering Saturday's clash with No. 3 Georgia (No. 1 AFCA Coaches).
On this edition of "The Volunteer State," Blake Toppmeyer of the USA TODAY Network and the News Sentinel's John Adams and Adam Sparks debate how this Tennessee team does (and doesn't) remind them of 2019 LSU.
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On one hand, the combination of Hooker and Heupel evokes memories of Burrow and Brady and, like LSU, the Vols (No. 3 AFCA Coaches) are winning with a multi-faceted offense and a defense that gets the job done.
On the other hand, 14 LSU Tigers were selected in the NFL Draft the following spring.
These Vols probably don't feature as much NFL talent. And yet ... they're averaging more than 49 points. Even better than LSU.
TOPPMEYER: CFP rankings got Tennessee and LSU right, Alabama wrong, and it doesn't matter
ADAMS:Josh Heupel has outcoached Nick Saban, Brian Kelly. Is Kirby Smart next?
SPARKS:Why Tennessee landed in College Football Playoff driver's seat — and Georgia may not matter
One other difference between 2019 LSU and these Vols: The Tigers were ranked No. 6 in the preseason by the AP. Tennessee was unranked. If the Vols win the national championship, they'd be the first team to go from preseason unranked to national champ since 1990 Georgia Tech.
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Blake Toppmeyer is an SEC Columnist for the USA TODAY Network. Adam Sparks is the Tennessee football beat writer for the Knoxville News Sentinel. John Adams is the News Sentinel's senior columnist. If you enjoy their coverage, consider a digital subscription that will allow you access to all of it. Also, you can subscribe to The Volunteer State podcast for free so you won't miss an episode. Toppmeyer and Adams also host another weekly podcast, SEC Football Unfiltered. Or, check out their SEC Unfiltered newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Is Tennessee football the new LSU? Vols share some similarities
