Episode 133: Vols improve SEC winning streak to one

GoVols247's Wes Rucker, Patrick Brown and Ryan Callahan went into Fort Rucker Studio to break down Tennessee's win — yes, win — at then-21st-ranked Auburn last weekend and discuss the Vols' upcoming showdown with top-ranked Alabama at Neyland Stadium. An program-record, 11-game SEC losing streak was stopped before reaching the dirty-dozen level, and Jeremy Pruitt became the fastest coach in SEC history to win a road game against a ranked team. It was just his sixth game on the sideline with the Vols. Much of the national discussion after the Tennessee-Auburn game focused on the Tigers, and understandably so, given the fact that they were considered legitimate national-championship contenders heading into the season and have now fallen out of the polls. But the talk around this state has centered on the stunning achievement for Pruitt and his Vols, who were stuffed all day on the ground at Auburn but scorched the Tigers' secondary through the air. Sophomore quarterback Jarrett Guarantano had the best day of his career on The Plains, winning several national and SEC player of the week honors after completing a career-high 21 of 32 passes for a career-high 328 yards, two touchdowns and zero interceptions. Senior defensive lineman Kyle Phillips also was honored by the SEC after arguably the best game of his career, finishing with nine tackles, one tackle for loss, one sack and one forced fumble that was recovered by freshman cornerback Alontae Taylor for a touchdown that proved to be the difference between the two teams. Here's are the questions now for Tennessee: Was the Auburn game an aberration, or have these Vols truly turned a corner and made themselves competitive in the SEC? Are these Vols now a contender to win six games and become bowl-eligible? Is Guarantano ready to be the man? Can this defense continue to hold up? Regardless, this weekend's game will be an even bigger test, even though it comes at Neyland Stadium — the site of Saturday's game against top-ranked Alabama. The Crimson Tide have been a force on defense throughout the Nick Saban era and are still really good on that side of the ball this season, but sophomore quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has made them even tougher on offense. They're leading the nation in scoring at 53.6 points per game, and Tagovailoa hasn't attempted a single pass in the fourth quarter all season. Before diving into what's expected to be a long weekend against Bama, though, we spend plenty of time discussing a huge win that Tennessee players, coaches, administrators and fans needed for several reasons.   That — along with some injury updates, general tomfoolery and the announcement of the new Grant's Gun Show Question of the Week — is the main focus of this episode.