After a 10-3 season and a top 10 finish, it’s not crazy to think that Tennessee is in the top 10 among teams’ 2025 national championship odds. However, when you factor in where FanDuel put them and combine it with the win total that was set, it’s clear that the betting markets are showing the Vols a lot of respect next year.
Josh Heupel’s fifth season at the helm will involve a team that currently has +1800 odds to win the national championship on FanDuel. That is tied for No. 8 with the Clemson Tigers, which is better than where they were last year with +2000 odds around this time.
However, more notable is the fact that Tennessee’ win total is set at 9.5. Believe it or not, that’s tied for first in the SEC with the Georgia Bulldogs and the Texas Longhorns. Yes, the Vols are given he odds to win the same number of games as the top two teams in the SEC.
Right off the bat, that means Tennessee has as much of a chance to play for the SEC Championship as anybody in the league this year. More importantly, though, it makes them all but a favorite to reach the College Football Playoff for a second straight year.
And why shouldn’t the Vols be this high?
Technically, they exceeded Vegas’ expectations last year, and they are the only SEC team with a returning starting quarterback. In fact, among the five highest ranked SEC teams in the final AP Poll, the Vols are the only team to return their starting quarterback. Don’t underestimate the value in that.
As far as national title odds, Texas and the Ohio State Buckeyes are the top two teams. The Oregon Ducks, Georgia Bulldogs, Penn State Nittany Lions, Notre Dame Fighting Irish and Alabama Crimson Tide are all ahead of UT as well. Somehow UT’s win total is one spot above Alabama’s despite Alabama having better title odds.
With the schedule looking a bit more daunting in 2025 than it did this past year, the win totals are even more shocking. However, that should give you an idea of the amount of talent Tennessee may have coming back next year, and it’s plenty of reason for excitement.
