Can Tennessee football get to CFP playing like this? It's almost there

COLLEGE STATION, TX – It’s perhaps fitting that No. 9 Tennessee football beat Texas A&M with a style akin to a military service academy.

After all, Texas A&M touts a proud corps of cadets, which stood together in uniform in the stands here at Kyle Field. It fired a cannon after the Aggies scored their only touchdown against Tennessee. And the game was framed by a military marching band.

It looked like a college football game played by Army, Navy or Air Force – teams that typically run the ball, play disciplined defense and win low-scoring games with sheer grit.

That’s how the Vols (8-2, 5-2 SEC) are winning. They won 22-7 over Texas A&M (4-6, 1-6) on Nov. 14 playing that way. And if they want to make the College Football Playoff and go on a postseason run, this is how they must win.

Circumstances surrounding this game made that increasing clear. And the Vols are comfortable with that reality.

“When we have all three phases of our team working together, we are a very dangerous team,” UT linebacker Jeremiah Telander said. “If we don’t hurt ourselves and make mistakes, I don’t know if there’s a team that can beat us when we’re rolling.”

Josh Heupel knows how Tennessee can win, and it's not pretty

That sounds like the chest-thumping of a dominant victory. But it was only that way on one side of the ball.

UT’s defense held Texas A&M to just 179 yards of total offense, including three first downs in the second half. It has allowed 20 points or less in six of seven SEC games. If there's a better defense in college football, it's not by much.

But on offense, the Vols inched their way across the field, averaging only 4.2 yards per play and breaking no gains of more than 25 yards. They repeated basic run plays, pushed the pile and got one first down at a time. It was a slog.

And when quarterback Faizon Brandon replaced an injured George MacIntyre, the Vols went to a run-first, run-second and run-third type of offense. He only tossed one pass, a 5-yard TD to DaSaahn Brame set up by a heavy ground game.

Is this sustainable? Coach Josh Heupel may have no choice but to test that possibility.

“They’re OK playing in tight games. Their demeanor does not change,” Heupel said about his players. “But offensively, boy, there are some things we can take advantage of and be more efficient at to change the way the game is played.”

Could Vols make CFP playing like this, and keep going?

Any questions about Tennessee’s style of play are asked with the College Football Playoff in mind.

The Vols were ranked No. 8 in the latest CFP rankings and projected to host a first-round game. The new rankings will be released on Nov. 17 (9 p.m. ET, ESPN), when they could climb in the poll.

Tennessee needs to win over No. 22 LSU on Nov. 21 (3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN) and at Vanderbilt on Nov. 28 to guarantee that it makes the 12-team CFP bracket.

But it’s worthwhile asking if this old-school, plodding approach to football can run the table in the regular season and go deep into the playoff. The Vols won with a version of this style against playoff contenders Alabama and Kentucky and almost pulled it off against Texas.

However, injuries and a revived quarterback carousel are testing the limits.

Mike Matthews, Daune Morris injuries scale down offense

Heupel coached college football’s highest scoring and fastest offense just a few years ago. He has adjusted to coaching this slow-paced, low-scoring style.

But even if he had resisted, recent circumstances have backed him into a corner where he must rely on this method of winning. That was evident in this victory over Texas A&M.

As long as UT’s defense wasn’t overextended, it would hold the Aggies in check. So UT’s offense bled the game clock with long drives to keep its defense fresh.

When Mike Matthews suffered a leg injury in the first quarter, UT lost its best wide receiver. That put a greater burden on the running game. And this was UT’s first win since losing big-play running back Daune Morris, who suffered a broken leg in a car crash on Nov. 13.

The list of ways that the Vols gain chunks of yards is dwindling. And rest assured, MacIntyre’s passing and Brandon’s running will both be key parts of the game plan against LSU because Heupel will utilize any means of moving the ball.

Don’t misunderstand. Heupel isn’t apologizing for winning games at a snail’s pace rather than that of a cheetah like some of his previous teams. Instead, he deserves credit for playing the hand that he has and playing it well. The question is how many cards does he still hold.

“You form an identity throughout the course of the year,” Heupel said. “And then you start playing to that identity. This is a lot of fun competing with them every Saturday.”

Adam Sparks is the Tennessee football beat reporter. Email adam.sparks@knoxnews.com. X, formerly known as Twitter@AdamSparks. Support strong local journalism by subscribing atknoxnews.com/subscribe.

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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Can Tennessee football get to CFP playing like this? It's almost there