College Football

2024 Tennessee football predictions: Ranked No. 13 by RJ Young

Updated Aug. 12, 2024 10:24 a.m. ET

FOX Sports National College Football Analyst

Tennessee Volunteers ranking: 13/134

[Check out RJ Young's ultimate 134 college football rankings here]

Conference ranking: 8th in SEC (+1600 to win conference)
Teams ahead of them: Utah (12), Oklahoma (11), Missouri (10), Alabama (9), Michigan (8)
Teams behind them: Penn State (14), Oklahoma State (15), Notre Dame (16), USC (17), Kansas State (18)

[Tennessee 2024 schedule]

RJ's take: We spill a lot of ink on Josh Heupel’s uptempo offense, and we will yet again with five-star QB Nico Iamaleava leading the Volunteers to begin a season for the first time. Until their loss to Alabama last year — a game they led at halftime — the Vols looked like a New Year’s Six Bowl team if not a contender for the SEC East title. But they lost to Bama. And then they got blown out by Missouri and UGA.

While they are on the road against Oklahoma, the Vols host Alabama and UGA while avoiding Ole Miss, LSU and Texas. Running the ball might be a problem with just one of their top three rushers returning from the 2023 team, so Cameron Seldon and Khalifa Keith will have to quite literally hit the ground running. But the guy who might most pop is true freshman Peyton Lewis after missing spring ball for shoulder surgery. He's explosive, with a 200-meter dash time of 21.20 and a handful of Virginia state high school titles to show for it.

Add to this that Tennessee lost all seven of its starters from linebacker to defensive back, plus the closest thing to Eric Berry the Vols have had at safety since the Tennessee legend left in freshman phenom Boo Carter, and the Vols will have a lot to figure out about their team in non-conference, including a Week 2 test against North Carolina State.

Tennessee Volunteers' Win Total Odds: Over 8.5 (-170) Under 8.5 (+145)

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