Is Tennessee Still an "Elite" Football Program?

A group of us were talking up SEC football at lunch the other day when this topic came up: Is Tennessee still an elite program?

The guy across from me, who happened to be an LSU fan, argued they are since they played in the championship game of the country's toughest conference last season. Of course, that is a game they lost, but they did hang with eventual National Champion LSU and really outplayed them for most of the game.

The guy next to me laughed at the suggestion. The Vols have not been in a BCS bowl game since the 1999-2000 season. They have not won a meaningful bowl game since the 1998/99 season. They have not won the SEC in years. Right now, they are the 6th best team in their own conference - how can they be an elite program?

So who is right?

At this point, in the aftermath of the Horror in Hollywood (I really like that moniker, by the way, much more than the Collision in the Coliseum this Saturday), it is easy to argue against the Vols. They are on nobody's National Championship watch list, let alone SEC East watch list. While the Dawgs and Gators grab national attention with Heisman winners and contenders, the Vols can only boast a really good secondary.

And what about NFL talent? Elite programs like USC, Ohio State and Florida are sending player after player into the pros. Do the Vols have guys who will play on Sunday?

Yes - Eric Berry, Arian Foster, Demetrice Morley, Gerald Jones, Brandon Warren and Britton Colquitt all strike me as plausible professionals. I imagine we have a linemen or two as well. Fulmer has rarely lacked talent because of his outstanding recruiting abilities. The Vols are a national power each year on Signing Day, even if some of those big recruits (LaMarcus Coker, Jonathan Crompton) don't pan out as advertised.

Back to the question - is Tennessee still "elite"?

Yes - stadium, facilities, fan base, tradition, national exposure, recruiting, winning seasons, consistently in bowl games, marque victories.

No - unranked, middle of pack in conference, not contending for titles, dissatisfied fan base, lack of football creativity, lack of significant wins.

So which is it?

As orange as my blood runs, I think the Vols are a full step away from being an elite program at this point. There is no doubt that the SEC is the toughest conference in the country and being in the upper half of it says something. Heck, Florida and Georgia watched the Vols play LSU in the title game last season. But that was also a season that featured an admittedly lucky victory over Kentucky, an overtime win over a mediocre South Carolina team and three blowout losses. Elite teams don't get blown out three times in one season.

Maybe The Clawfense will turn things around. Maybe the big recruits will pan out. Maybe the Vols will find the heart they had in the 1990s. Until then, they are a good, not elite, football program.