By Jimmy Hyams

This Christmas, as Tennessee prepares for what promises to be an upper-tier bowl game — if not the College Football Playoffs — the Vols should have a check-list of holiday cards to be mailed.

At the top of the list: Virginia Tech.

If not for two Virginia Tech defections, Tennessee wouldn’t be 6-0, wouldn’t have beaten Alabama and wouldn’t be No. 3 in the nation.

Those defections: Quarterback Hendon Hooker and receiver Jalin Hyatt.

Hooker transferred to Tennessee in January 2021 after four up-and-down years and 15 starts at Blacksburg, Va.

Hyatt was committed for months to the Hokies before switching to Tennessee.

They have been the two most important players on Tennessee’s team.

When Hooker transferred to Tennessee, it didn’t move the needle, not like when Justin Fields went to Ohio State or Jalen Hurts to Oklahoma or Caleb Williams to USC.

But the native of Greensboro, N.C., has been brilliant. He leads the SEC in pass efficiency and pass yards per attempt. He has 15 touchdown passes to one interception. He set a school record for consecutive passes without an interception. He is tied for the school record with a TD pass in 18 consecutive games.

He spearheads and offense that ranks No. 1 in the nation in total yards and No. 1 in the SEC in scoring.

He has become one of the best players in college football.

Respected sportswriter Matt Hayes of Saturday Down South was asked on SportsTalk, the Sports Animal 99.1 FM, where he would rank Hooker in the Heisman vote.

“No. 1 and it’s not close,’’ Hayes said.

Hayes said he puts a lot of weight on how players play in big games. Hooker was outstanding against Florida, LSU and Alabama – three ranked teams. In fact, against those three SEC foes, UT has punted just three times.

That’s pretty efficient.

And Tennessee has averaged 43.3 points and almost 550 yards against those SEC teams without All-SEC receiver Cedric Tillman (high ankle sprain).  

Hooker is Tennessee’s best quarterback since Peyton Manning.

Hyatt has made remarkable improvement from his sophomore to junior season.

A year ago, Hyatt lost his job after the Florida game after another unproductive performance. His propensity to drop passes dropped his confidence level and dropped him on the depth chart. He went four games in a row without catching a pass. He had four more games with no more than one catch.

He finished 2021 with 21 catches for 226 yards.

This season, he has 33 catches for 595 yards and a nation’s leading 10 touchdowns. He leads the SEC in receiving yards per game and receptions per game. He torched Alabama for 207 yards and a school-record five touchdown receptions.

“I’m just so proud of who Jalin Hyatt has become,’’ said UT offensive coordinator and play-caller Alex Golesh, who continually schemed Hyatt open against Alabama’s beleaguered secondary.

“A year ago at this time, I don’t know that we would’ve sat here and said he’s going to catch five touchdowns against Alabama,’’

You don’t say.

Before the Alabama game last week, you wouldn’t have said it, either. Nobody catches five touchdown passes against a Saban defense, right?

“He took the challenges he was presented with a year ago, most of them brought on by himself, and just kept working,’’ Golesh said.

Golesh said that against Alabama it was “finding those matchups then trying to exploit them.’’

Mission accomplished.

But that mission wouldn’t have been accomplished without Hooker and Hyatt – two guys who left Virginia Tech and found the Promised Land in Knoxville.

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By Jimmy Hyams

The raging debate in Knoxville is whether Tennessee should be ranked No. 1 in the nation.

The Vols are No. 3 in the AP poll and No. 4 in the coaches’ poll.

Yet, no team in the country has more wins over ranked opponents than Tennessee.

Should that stamp UT as the top-ranked team? Is that the most important barometer in the ratings?

I used to vote in the AP poll and is not easy to discern from week to week where teams should be ranked.

You have to put weight on head-to-head matchups, on results v. ranked teams, on strength of schedule, on key injuries.

Then, there’s the eye test.

Does Ohio State “look’’ like a better team than Georgia or Clemson?

Here’s another factor to consider: In 2005, Tennessee started the season ranked No. 3 in the preseason poll. So if you beat the Vols in week one, you beat a top five team. But if you beat those Vols in week 10, you beat an unranked team.

So one team gets credit for a win over a top five opponent and another team doesn’t.

Doesn’t it make more sense to say you beat a team that is currently ranked rather than a team that was ranked when you played them?

Or, did that No. 20 team you beat fall out of the top 20 only because you beat them. You shouldn’t be penalized for that.

My point is, many factors play into the rankings. There is not a be-all, end-all formula.

Having said that, let’s take a deeper dive into Tennessee.

Using the higher ranking in the polls, Tennessee beat No. 14 Pitt on the road, No. 20 Florida, No. 25 LSU on the road, and No. 1 Alabama.

No team in the country has a resume like that.

But, Pitt, Florida and LSU are no longer ranked.

So how much credit should Tennessee get for beating teams now unranked?

Yet, each of those teams likely would be ranked if they had beaten Tennessee.

Where would I ranked Tennessee this week?

Third.

Tennessee has more quality wins than Ohio State and Georgia, but having watched those two teams play, I think they would beat the Vols head to head.

Why?

Defense.

While Tennessee’s run defense is much improved over last year, the secondary is horrible.

You might want to point out UT’s defense made some key stops against Florida and Alabama. But Florida gained 594 total yards (453 in the air) and Alabama gained 569 yards (455 in the air).

Maybe Tennessee’s top-ranked offense will be good enough to outscore Georgia. Maybe it could outscore Ohio State and Clemson and Michigan.

But I don’t recall a team winning a championship – or being ranked in the top five – that allows 425 yards per game (332 yards passing).

Tennessee might prove to be the exception.

We’ll get a much better idea Nov. 5 in Athens.

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