Tennessee Vols Football: Batten Down the Hatches, October is Here

Thankfully, September is over for this Tennessee Vols football team.

Most pundits, fans, and supporters figured the Vols would win two and lose two. Those of you who foresaw that results should consider yourself borderline psychic, especially in matters of the obvious. 

We knew this team would have to be horrible to lose to either UT-Martin or Alabama-Birmingham; the Oregon and Florida losses could be seen for a country-mile. 

Another set of losses that many amateur and professional prognosticators see coming is the eventual October destruction that this decimated Vols team is sure to experience, beginning Saturday at LSU.

October is chock-full of challenges for a Tennessee program that is definite rebuilding mode.

Baton Rouge awaits this week; the following week features a road trip to Georgia, before an off-week.

The Vols then come back home, where No. 1 Alabama will be locked and loaded for another big rivalry showdown; a road trip to South Carolina will mercifully end this month of doom.

Most seasons, any normal Vols fan would look at the lackluster offensive play of LSU and the downright turmoil at Georgia and see two sure-wins for the Big Orange.

In the past, Vols fans could even count on the Alabama game being such a big rivalry game that you could, "throw out the records when those two get together."

And South Carolina has only defeated Tennessee twice in 18 years ('05 and '08). 

Not even the most optimistic Vols fanatic could see a win in October this time around—especially not after the Vols were completely run over against a vastly inferior Alabama-Birmingham team.

Yes, the Vols did win the game in two overtimes, but if you feel good about that win, I need some of the kool-aid that you are drinking. 

The Vols are severely limited by a lack of depth and experience.

Tennessee began the season with 76 players on scholarship. By the end of camp, four of those players were lost for the season. By the end of the Oregon game, three more would be gone for the foreseeable future. 

The result, Tennessee will take 66-68 players on the road to LSU this week, according to head coach Derek Dooley. On Monday, the coach told the weekly gathering of media that 30 of those players will be making their first-ever road trip as a Tennessee football player. 

Sure, it's college football. Sure, anything could happen. LSU and Georgia are, after all, about as dreadful as the Vols on offense. Both of those teams do have head coaches that are on the hot-seat, at varying degrees.

But given what we've seen from the Tennessee Vols so far, none of that will matter. 

Even though the month hasn't actually begun yet, chances are October will end without a win for the Vols. 

There could be a tiny sliver of hope on the horizon in November, however.

Since 1990, Tennessee is 67-12 in November. With Memphis, Ole Miss, Vanderbilt, and Kentucky coming up in the season's final month, November could be just the opposite of October. 

Unfortunately, not much else could make the inevitable October storm bearable.