The Volunteer State

On this edition of "The Volunteer State," Blake Toppmeyer of the USA TODAY Network and the News Sentinel's John Adams and Adam Sparks reflect on Kiffin's exit, discuss his return and examine what is an important game for each program.

Tennessee has had a losing record in seven of the last 11 seasons, following Kiffin's exit.

Toppmeyer asks Sparks and Adams to envision a world in which Kiffin didn't depart in January 2010. What would have happened to Tennessee football and Kiffin?

First-year coach Josh Heupel and his Vols (3-2, 1-1) delivered a beatdown to Heupel's former employer on Saturday in a 62-24 victory.

683 yards.

No punts.

Intercepted two passes.

One massive victory for Tennessee's bowl hopes. 

Is Josh Heupel's rebuild of Tennessee football ahead of schedule?

Stay connected on Twitter with Blake (@btoppmeyer) Adam (@AdamSparks) and John (@JohnAdamsKNS) and stay up to date on Vols sports news by following @GoVolsXtra.

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Tennessee football's quarterback competition is made for a Netflix drama.

Just when you think you know the direction this is headed, a plot twist emerges, carrying the intrigue into the following week.

And so, once again, eyes will fix on the quarterback situation when Tennessee (2-2, 0-1 SEC) plays at Missouri (2-2, 0-1) on Saturday (noon ET) in Columbia, Mo.

Stay connected on Twitter with Blake (@btoppmeyer) Adam (@AdamSparks) and John (@JohnAdamsKNS) and stay up to date on Vols sports news by following @GoVolsXtra.

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Tennessee fans of a certain age can remember when the Vols-Florida game was the most important regular-season date on the SEC calendar. The rivalry carried major implications for which team would win the SEC.

From 1992-01, Florida or Tennessee represented the SEC East in the SEC Championship each year.

The stakes aren't the same anymore.

Tennessee's last SEC championship was in 1998, and it last won the East in 2007. The Vols' lack of success – both as a whole and within this series – have cheapened this matchup.

Stay connected on Twitter with Blake (@btoppmeyer) Adam (@AdamSparks) and John (@JohnAdamsKNS) and stay up to date on Vols sports news by following @GoVolsXtra.

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If you've listened to sports talk radio in East Tennessee throughout this week, you know there's one thing on the minds of Vols fans above all else: Tennessee's latest quarterback controversy.

Joe Milton started the season's first two games, but the Michigan transfer has struggled, and he exited during the second quarter of UT's 41-34 loss to Pittsburgh on Saturday. Backup Hendon Hooker gave the offense life, although he also committed two turnovers.

Meanwhile, Harrison Bailey has not played after starting the final three games of last season.

Stay connected on Twitter with Blake (@btoppmeyer) Adam (@AdamSparks) and John (@JohnAdamsKNS) and stay up to date on Vols sports news by following @GoVolsXtra.

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All it took was one game for Josh Heupel to attract skepticism over his decision to make Joe Milton Tennessee's starting quarterback.

Despite Milton's up-and-down first start in a Vols uniform, though, Heupel sees no quarterback controversy, just a quarterback who needs to improve from one week to the next.

Nevertheless, Tennessee (1-0) is a home underdog against Pittsburgh (1-0) on Saturday (noon ET, EPSN) and will require better quarterback production to win a game that will be critical to UT's opportunity to qualify for a bowl.

Stay connected on Twitter with Blake (@btoppmeyer) Adam (@AdamSparks) and John (@JohnAdamsKNS) and stay up to date on Vols sports news by following @GoVolsXtra.

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Tennessee has its starting quarterback. That much we know after Josh Heupel announced Joe Milton as the starter for the Vols' season opener against Bowling Green on Thursday (8 p.m. ET, SEC Network).

Now the question is whether Milton will play well enough to ensure there's no waffling at the position, or whether backups Harrison Bailey or Hendon Hooker will wrestle the job away should Milton stumble.

Stay connected on Twitter with Blake (@btoppmeyer) Adam (@AdamSparks) and John (@JohnAdamsKNS) and stay up to date on Vols sports news by following @GoVolsXtra.

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Tennessee fans got a clear warning that Jeremy Pruitt's tenure was headed toward failure on Aug. 31, 2019.

That's when Georgia State stormed into Neyland Stadium and beat the Vols 38-30 in the opener to Pruitt's second season.

The Panthers won despite being 26-point underdogs.

Well, Bowling Green is a 34-point underdog when the Falcons face Tennessee in the season opener on Sept. 2 (8 p.m. ET, SEC Network) at Neyland Stadium.

Surely, Bowling Green won't become Josh Heupel's Georgia State, right?

Stay connected on Twitter with Blake (@btoppmeyer) Adam (@AdamSparks) and John (@JohnAdamsKNS) and stay up to date on Vols sports news by following @GoVolsXtra.

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Tennessee made an aesthetic change at Neyland Stadium last week when it replaced Jason Witten with Alvin Kamara as one of the three images on the back of the stadium's video board.

Former coach Gen. Robert Neyland remains in the middle position on the backside of the video board, while former Vols star linebacker Al Wilson is also still on the board.

Kamara replaced Witten because Tennessee wanted to have a current NFL player displayed. Kamara is in the midst of a standout career with the New Orleans Saints.

But what if Tennessee wanted to display players from its current roster on the video board? Which three Vols would be deserving of that recognition?

Stay connected on Twitter with Blake (@btoppmeyer) Mike (@ByMikeWilson) and John (@JohnAdamsKNS) and stay up to date on Vols sports news by following @GoVolsXtra.

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Who is going to be Tennessee football's starting quarterback? And who will be the backup?

That's a topic that won't go away until a pecking order becomes apparent, especially given that the Vols have struggled at the position since Joshua Dobbs' exit following the 2016 season.

At least Tennessee has a deep competition for the job.

Stay connected on Twitter with Blake (@btoppmeyer) Mike (@ByMikeWilson) and John (@JohnAdamsKNS) and stay up to date on Vols sports news by following @GoVolsXtra.

Connect on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/GoVolsXtra/

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