Tennessee is undefeated. There’s reason to believe the Vols can stay that way.
Feel free to tell me I’m getting ahead of myself, putting the cart ahead of horse or need to focus on woeful Kent State, but that’s not really necessary. The Flashes are horrible and the Vols will win easily on Saturday in Neyland Stadium. So, let’s discuss something more interesting.
Tennessee can go undefeated during the regular season. Yes, I said that. Now, I’m not predicting as much, especially since the Vols haven’t beaten Georgia since 2016 and the Bulldogs are undoubtedly the class of the nation as the reigning national champions. Moreover, the Vols have to play Oklahoma, Alabama and Georgia, who also have College Football Playoff aspirations just like the Vols. Therefore, I’ll stick with my preseason prediction of 10-2, but that’s not become rock bottom of what I think the Vols can do before the SEC Championship Game or the playoffs.
Tennessee will be underdogs against Georgia, but the other two noteworthy matchups will be considered close contests by oddsmakers. As for Florida, I’m not counting them as a true test. The Gators are as done as Joe Biden.
However, after two complete weeks of college football, we know more about the teams on Tennessee’s schedule. And, for the most part, they’re fallible. In one case, they’re falling apart.
Here are four reasons why Tennessee can go undefeated this season that have very little to do with the Vols:
Oklahoma has injury problems – already
Sooner offensive lineman Geiran Hatchett has been ruled out for the remainder of the season with a bicep injury. Hatchett was a replacement for Branson Hickman, who was Oklahoma’s starting center. That led to Joshua Bates getting his first start at center last week against in a 16-12 win over Houston.
“We’re on our third center, and that’s a real thing,” Venables told Sports Illustrated. “That’s the guy that touches the ball every snap. (Bates) started his first college game last week and he did pretty good. Can he be better? Yeah, who couldn’t? Billy Bowman could have been better. Danny Stutsman could have been better. And they played really good.”
The Sooners have also had to play without starting right tackle Jake Taylor, who is expected to return to the lineup, likely by the Tennessee game on Sept. 21. That led to more shifting. Backup guard Troy Everett has also been sidelined by a knee injury. Whoever plays against the Vols, it’s hard to imagine there will be much chemistry amongst the Sooners’ front line.
The Sooners also have injury concerns at receiver, cornerback and linebacker, although they are thought to be short term. Even if the Sooners heal up, there is no continuity for the Boomers.
Alabama has injury problems too. Plus they like to hold. And Tennessee will have help.
Likely Alabama’s best offensive lineman, Kadyn Proctor, missed the South Florida game with a nagging shoulder injury. That forced left guard Tyler Booker to move to left tackle and backup Geno VanDeMark to fill in at Booker’s former position. However injuries weren’t the only problem.
Alabama was called for five holds that negated multiple touchdowns. The Crimson Tide offensive linemen were also called for an illegal block in the back and two false starts.
“I think a lot of it is just number of reps that they’ve had together,” DeBoer told Al.com. “It was pretty much just this week for two practices and it showed. It showed that we weren’t on the same page with different things and different calls.”
Tennessee also had a good friend on the coaching staff that pushed Alabama until the final quarter, in which the Crimson Tide held just a two-point lead late in the game. Former UT offensive coordinator Alex Golesh is the head coach at South Florida. Think he and Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel might visit before the Tennessee-Alabama game?
Tennessee will have better quarterback play than Georgia
Admittedly, you’ll have to work with me on this one. Bulldog quarterback Carson Beck is one of the top quarterbacks in the country and likely a first round pick in the NFL Draft. However, I think the same about Tennessee’s Nico Iamaleava. So far, Iamaleava is almost as good and he’s just getting started.
Beck’s quarterback rating is 185.8 while Iamaleava’s is 185.5. Beck is a senior and has started 16 games. Iamaleava is a redshirt freshman and has started three games. He’ll continue to improve at a much faster rate than Beck.
The Vols will be favorites in every other game this season
Tennessee should be able to beat every other team on their schedule if the Vols play their best. They should be able to beat every other team on their schedule, except the teams mentioned above, with a good – not great – performance given their newfound depth and a defense that could prove to be historically good. Tennessee’s defense is led by a multitude of defensive linemen that can come in waves, stay fresh and pressure the quarterback. That’s something that Oklahoma and Alabama will have to be mindful of unless they get healthy quick.
Conclusion
Will Tennessee finish the regular season undefeated? Probably not. However, I would have probably said the same thing the last time the Vols did so – in 1998.
