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There may be some of you asking yourselves just how it is that Tennessee football can walk away with the SEC title this season. Well, it won’t be easy, but stranger things have certainly happened.
For instance, no one thought that Brian Kelly would be able to take LSU to the SEC Championship Game in his first season, all while beating Alabama inside Bryant-Denny Stadium. Sure, the Tigers may have been walloped by a 20-point difference against the eventual national champion Georgia Bulldogs, but it still happened.
So why isn’t there a belief that the 2024 Tennessee Volunteers football team can win the SEC title?
It all goes back to previous results and program perception. The Volunteers haven’t won an SEC title since 1998, which was also the year they won their last national title. The last time they played for an SEC title was back in 2007. Needless to say, it’s been a long time since Rocky Top has hoisted any trophies in football.
Before Josh Heupel arrived in Knoxville, things hit an all-time low for the program. By the end of 2017, the Volunteers were once again in a coaching search and eventually settled for Jeremy Pruitt, who ended his final season with Tennessee in 2020, going 3-7. Yet another coaching search led to the hiring of Heupel, who many considered a mid-level hire at the time. Then the 2022 season happened.
Tennessee football suddenly came roaring back into the picture that season, having its best since 2007, finishing 11-2. That team was led by the No. 1 offense in the country and, at one time, a Heisman Trophy hopeful, Hendon Hooker, before an injury ended his year. There is hope that something similar can happen in 2024, starting with their new starting quarterback, Nico Iamaleava.
Nico Iamaleava should revive Tennessee football's offense in 2024
You can’t mention Tennessee football this season without first mentioning Nico Iamaleava. Tennessee fans have been anxiously awaiting his arrival since Heupel and his staff recruited the former five-star. Last year, the reins were handed off to veteran Joe Milton III in his final season, with Iamaleava getting brief appearances until finally the bowl game, where he made his first career start.
Against a tough Iowa defense, there were brief instances of what Iamaleava is capable of, giving fans just enough to whet their appetite before this season. But if Iamaleava is what he’s projected to be, then there’s no reason the Volunteers won’t work their way back up to being one of the best offenses in the country again.
Will they be No. 1 again? That may be a tall order, especially considering other teams like Oregon, Ohio State, Georgia, or even someone like Miami might have something to say about that. But a top 10, top 15 in the country and top 3 in the SEC seems feasible. Iamaleava makes the Volunteers an instant threat in the SEC, so much so that he gives them a chance to win the conference, albeit as a dark horse.
Tennessee football's defense will be better than most think
If you’re in the SEC, as good as your offense needs to be, without a stellar defense, you’re probably not playing for a conference title. Tim Banks, Tennessee’s defensive coordinator, probably doesn’t get the credit he deserves for what he’s done with his side of the ball since he arrived. The Volunteers have improved every season under Banks.
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Though the Volunteers do have some question marks concerning their secondary entering the 2024 season, one strength they do have defensively is their defensive line. It might just be the best in the entire SEC.
This was a group that ranked ninth in the country last season and second in the SEC in sacks (41), while finishing sixth in the country in tackles for loss (101), according to the team’s site. When you put guys on the field like James Pearce Jr.—a potential top-five 2024 NFL Draft pick—Elijah Simmons, Omari Thomas, and Omarr Norman-Lott, they’re going to create problems for opposing offensive fronts.
But this is a deep group all around, which also boasts senior Bryson Eason, Stanford junior transfer Jaxson Moi, plus rising talents like Joshua Josephs, Caleb Herring, Tyre West, and Tyree Weathersby. Any question marks the secondary does have can mostly be alleviated with the pressure this group will put on opposing offenses.
SEC schedule helps Tennessee football
As we know, like in most things with college football, nothing is created equal, including schedules. What’s favorable for the Volunteers this season is that they have the 52nd-ranked toughest schedule in college football, according to College Football Network. That’s ranked 15th out of 16 teams in the SEC. And though that could actually become a potential detriment due to SEC tiebreaker rules, it's still an advantage for now.
As of preseason rankings, Tennessee football faces four teams in the top 25: No. 24 NC State, No. 16 Oklahoma, No. 5 Alabama, and No. 1 Georgia. They’ll face the Wolfpack in a neutral game in Charlotte. They’ll have the luxury of once again hosting Alabama at Neyland Stadium but will have to go to Oklahoma and Georgia.
An NC State loss is probably affordable but not exactly welcomed. Since we’re talking about the SEC title here, conference play is where it’s at. The Sooners, Crimson Tide, and Bulldogs all have legitimate shots at making the conference championship. Tennessee will need to take two out of three of these, which isn’t exactly easy but more favorable than in years past.
Oklahoma, who’ll be starting a rookie quarterback, will be figuring out how to handle an SEC schedule, opening with the Volunteers. Meanwhile, Alabama will still be in the midst of a huge transition phase, post-Nick Saban. And as for Georgia, when they meet in mid-November, the Bulldogs will have already faced four top-15 teams.
The favorable part of the SEC schedule comes from games against Arkansas and Vanderbilt on the road, and then Florida, Kentucky, and Mississippi State at home. Maybe only two of these teams are projected to make a bowl game.
For Tennessee, it’s all about beating the ones they should beat and causing an upset or two along the way. With the SEC, nothing will ever come easy, but the Volunteers could surprise a lot of people and find themselves competing for a conference title in 2024.
