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It’s an exciting time to be a college football fan, and one fan base that is excited for the season is Tennessee football fans. The Volunteers have put together a couple good seasons in a row, and now that the College Football Playoff is expanded to 12 teams, they have a real shot in 2024.
We made it. Another long college football offseason is over as the calendar reads August, and the first games started on the 24th. College football fans everywhere were eager for the new beginning. College football fever is rampant across the country as we get closer to week one, but this offseason was a bit easier than others because of the new EA Sports NCAA 25 video game that just came out in mid July.
This season is a big one, and things are going to look different.
First off, there are some rules changes this year in college football, and some fans aren’t going to like them. Perhaps the biggest change is the addition of the two-minute warning, like in the NFL. If you are like most college football fans, you’re getting sick of the amount of commercials that we see during games. Well, the two-minute warning is just another way for TV Networks to pack another break into the action.
There are more changes, however, and these are ones that more fans are in favor of, but some still don’t like them. College football looks completely different this season because of expansion to the College Football Playoff to 12 teams and conference realignment. California schools playing in the Atlantic Coast Conference? Yeah, things are changing.
Conference realignment has made things look a lot different. The power five is no longer a thing as the Pac-12 is essentially dead. Every team left for a new conference except for Oregon State and Washington State. Those two teams have scheduling alliances with the Mountain West, but they aren’t actually in the conference.
Every other Pac-12 school found a new home. Utah, Colorado, Arizona and Arizona State are now in the Big 12. Oregon, Oregon State, USC and UCLA joined the Big Ten. Lastly, Cal and Stanford joined the ACC (makes a ton of sense, right?).
The other big change with conferences comes in the SEC. Oklahoma and Texas are both leaving the Big 12 and they are now in the SEC. The Big Ten and the SEC are loaded with good teams, and some think that things could be heading in the direction of two super conferences.
This season, we will also see 12 teams make the College Football Playoff instead of just four. For about a month, the College Football Playoff will be happening. Some people aren’t in favor of the big expansion, but there will be more marquee college football games, and it’s hard to be too upset about that.
All in all, this is going to be one of the biggest college football seasons of all time. The game is changing, and this is the start of a new era.
No one is talking about Tennessee football
As week one looms, there aren't very many people talking about the Tennessee football team, and that might be a good thing for the Volunteers. Tennessee has a very proud fan base that went a long time without any big success, but the past couple of years have been much better. The 2022 season was especially a good one for the Volunteers as they ended up winning 11 games. They narrowly missed out on going to the College Football Playoff because of an upset loss late in the season, but they beat Alabama, and they got to double digit wins. It was a good year.
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Last year wasn't as good as 2022, but it was still a solid season for Tennessee as they went 9-4. Now, the Volunteers are about to start the 2024 season, and not really anyone is talking about them in terms of an SEC contender. People are talking about Georgia, Texas, Alabama, Ole Miss, Missouri and Oklahoma, but not a lot of folks are talking about Tennessee. The Volunteers are flying under the radar, and that's a good thing.
Tennessee has a new quarterback this season in Nico Iamaleava, and he is expected to be very good. This team could surprise a lot of people. No one is expecting them to win the SEC, but they could absolutely make a push for the conference crown and the College Football Playoff.
Flying under the radar is good, and the Volunteers are hoping to shock the nation. Here are three last-minute predictions before the Volunteers start their season on Saturday against Chattanooga.
Tennessee football will win 10 games
Tennessee got pretty fortunate in terms of their SEC schedule. They do have tricky games against Alabama and Georgia, but they don't have to play Ole Miss, Texas, Texas A&M, Missouri or LSU. It certainly could be a lot worse. Still, there are numerous tough tests on this schedule. Don't expect the Volunteers to beat Georgia, but they should be right there with every other team on their schedule.
Nico Iamaleava is going to throw for 3,500+ yards
Nico Iamaleava is a very good quarterback. It might take him a couple games to get acclimated to being a power four starting QB, but he is going to be good, and this offense is built perfectly for him to find success. Tennessee football has some talent around Iamaleava as well.
Iamaleava isn't going to end up winning the Heisman trophy or anything like that, but he is going to be able to put up some big numbers, and he will lead this team to a successful year.
Tennessee football will make the College Football Playoff
Lastly, if Tennessee can find a way to win 10 games in the regular season, they should be a lock to go to the College Football Playoff. For Big Ten and SEC teams, 10 wins should be the target in terms of making the CFP. Nine wins could even do the trick in some cases, but 10 is much more of a guarantee.
There are just a few more days until Tennessee trots out onto the field to take on Chattanooga, and another season of Volunteers football will be underway.
