It has been 20 years since Tennessee has not been ranked in a preseason top 25 poll (1989). This year, the Vols have received just two votes in the ESPN Coaches Top 25 preseason poll. Judging by the amount of teams the Vols must leap-frog and the low-quality strength of schedule which the Vols play early, it may be as early, or as late, as October 11 (the day after the UGA tilt) before the Vols move into the top 25.
Tennessee should roll through WKU and UCLA en route to their date in The Swamp on Sept. 19th. Neither the Hilltoppers nor the Bruins are ranked in the top 75 and the victories the Vols claim over these opponents will be seen as of no consequence to anyone outside of east Tennessee.
As usual, the game against the Gators will be a pivotal one as the victor will once again control their destiny in the SEC east. Anybody but the blindly orange fan will assume this a loss for UTK. A 2-1 record will quell whatever early momentum the Vols had going for them in the polls.
The Ohio Bobcats will provide a feel-good elixir for the Vols on their return to Knoxville. According to reknowned football prognosticator Phill Steele; the Vols are currently 4-0 lifetime against MAC teams and are 12-2 the week after the Florida game.
The tilt against Auburn will provide fans of both teams a matchup of the 3-1 Vols versus the 4-0 or 3-1 Tigers (depending upon how they fare on the plains against West Virginia on Sept. 19th). The Tigers received 55 votes in the preseason ESPN Coaches poll and may be as highly ranked as 24 or 25 when they visit Knoxville. Even a victory over the Tigers may not be enough to propel the Vols into the Top 25.
Depending how UGA survives their meat-grinder of a schedule, the Bulldogs may be an opponent highly-ranked enough for a Vol victory to catapult Tennessee into the Top 25. There is a caveat to this, however. Georgia faces two team ranked in the preseason top 11 in their season-opener versus Oklahoma St. (11) in Stillwater and LSU (9) in Athens the week before traveling to Knoxville. For five grueling weeks the Bulldogs play arguably the toughest opening stretch out of all of the FBS teams. If UGA is 5-0, and tired and flat after their battle versus LSU, the Vols have a great shot at moving up. Georgia may also be 3-2, and unranked, when they play the Vols whereby a Tennessee win may not seem as great an accomplishment. If the latter scenario occurs, then it won't be until TSIO, the game after their bye week, before the Vols have a shot at pollster redemption.
In short, the Vols could be the best unranked 5-1 team in all of college football.
Tennessee should roll through WKU and UCLA en route to their date in The Swamp on Sept. 19th. Neither the Hilltoppers nor the Bruins are ranked in the top 75 and the victories the Vols claim over these opponents will be seen as of no consequence to anyone outside of east Tennessee.
As usual, the game against the Gators will be a pivotal one as the victor will once again control their destiny in the SEC east. Anybody but the blindly orange fan will assume this a loss for UTK. A 2-1 record will quell whatever early momentum the Vols had going for them in the polls.
The Ohio Bobcats will provide a feel-good elixir for the Vols on their return to Knoxville. According to reknowned football prognosticator Phill Steele; the Vols are currently 4-0 lifetime against MAC teams and are 12-2 the week after the Florida game.
The tilt against Auburn will provide fans of both teams a matchup of the 3-1 Vols versus the 4-0 or 3-1 Tigers (depending upon how they fare on the plains against West Virginia on Sept. 19th). The Tigers received 55 votes in the preseason ESPN Coaches poll and may be as highly ranked as 24 or 25 when they visit Knoxville. Even a victory over the Tigers may not be enough to propel the Vols into the Top 25.
Depending how UGA survives their meat-grinder of a schedule, the Bulldogs may be an opponent highly-ranked enough for a Vol victory to catapult Tennessee into the Top 25. There is a caveat to this, however. Georgia faces two team ranked in the preseason top 11 in their season-opener versus Oklahoma St. (11) in Stillwater and LSU (9) in Athens the week before traveling to Knoxville. For five grueling weeks the Bulldogs play arguably the toughest opening stretch out of all of the FBS teams. If UGA is 5-0, and tired and flat after their battle versus LSU, the Vols have a great shot at moving up. Georgia may also be 3-2, and unranked, when they play the Vols whereby a Tennessee win may not seem as great an accomplishment. If the latter scenario occurs, then it won't be until TSIO, the game after their bye week, before the Vols have a shot at pollster redemption.
In short, the Vols could be the best unranked 5-1 team in all of college football.
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