Offensive lineman Kyler Kerbyson’s first three seasons at Tennessee ended in November

That’s why he is not taking win No. 6 for granted.

Kerbyson wasn’t particularly thrilled with how the offense played in Tennessee’s 24-0 victory against North Texas, but the win meant the Vols are now bowl eligible for the second straight year.

So while Kerbyson admitted there were things the offense could have done better, he couldn’t complain about Tennessee (6-4) clinching bowl eligibility before the season finale for the first time since 2009.

“It’s pretty awesome,” Kerbyson said. “I’m really happy with it, and I just feel like I left this place better than when I got here, and that’s really what I was trying to do the whole time. I think I can speak for every senior that is still here that, that is what we wanted to do.

“To be able to get to six wins before a last game nail biter. It feels good to have that clinched.”

The Vols travel to Missouri and then host Vanderbilt for their two remaining games. Wins against both will most likely ensure a better bowl destination than last year’s TaxSlayer Bowl. Tennessee could play in the Belk Bowl, or even receive a bid to the Outback bowl in Tampa Bay.

Kerbyson isn’t looking that far ahead.

“We aren’t trying to play these games to get in a better bowl,” Kerbyson said. “We are trying to play these games to win.

“We aren’t concentrated on what bowl we go to. We’re concentrated on Missouri now, and that’s it. One day at a time, one week at a time. Once we figure this out, we can move on to the next week.”

Mean Green Field-Tennessee coach Butch Jones didn’t go so far as to criticize the conditions on Shields-Watkins Field.

But he suggested that he is aware there is a problem.

Multiple players slipped on the field in Tennessee’s win over North Texas. Photos of the field emerged on social media during the game revealing poor field conditions. North Texas’ official twitter account  tweeted a gif of someone painting dead grass green with the caption, “Pretty sure this is what took place at Neyland Stadium on Friday #GMG”

While the condition of Shields-Watkins field will remain a popular topic for the next few weeks, Jones said his main concern is prepping the Vols for their next game.

“I’ve got to get our team ready,” Jones said. “I know we’ll take every possible adjustment. We will do everything we can on the field, but I’ve got to worry about getting this team ready to go for the next two weeks and playing our best football and getting our health back.”

This isn’t the first time Shields-Watkins has come under scrutiny. Multiple players also lost their footing in Tennessee’s 27-24 victory against South Carolina. Jones said last Monday that Tennessee was doing everything that it could to correct the problem.

There didn’t seem to be much improvement on Saturday.

Players struggled remaining upright on Saturday. North Texas quarterback DaMarcus Smith lost his footing when dropping back to pass. Evan Berry slipped and fell in safety coverage – just to name a few examples.

“It’s frustrating, but it’s football,” said Alvin Kamara, who led the Vols in rushing with 127 yards. “You can’t control the weather or field conditions. You just got to lock in and keep playing. You might slip or stumble a little bit, but you got to keep playing. You can’t get really frustrated.”

 Jones explained, however, that players can control how much they slip on the field to an extent.

“The thing that you have to stress is everything is about body position,” Jones said. “You can’t let your feet get outside the position of your body. So it’s really being in a good football position which we stress all the time. It’s really just being in a football position and not letting your feet get outside the body.”