College Football

Why Tennessee might be the best college football team in the nation

Updated Sep. 25, 2024 6:53 p.m. ET

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Nico Iamaleava and the No. 5 Tennessee Volunteers are rolling.

In-between a pair of overwhelming wins over Chattanooga and Kent State — by a combined score of 140-3 — Tennessee pummeled then-No. 21 North Carolina State, 51-10. The Volunteers followed up those aforementioned out-of-conference victories by beating now-No. 21 Oklahoma on the road in their SEC opener, 25-15.

The impressive start has Tennessee shooting up the rankings and some observers wondering if the Volunteers are national championship contenders.

Colin Cowherd opined why the Volunteers will indeed be the last team standing on Wednesday's edition of "The Herd."

"Those two teams aren't the best teams [Georgia and Alabama] in the SEC. I'm going to call it right now: Tennessee is going to win the national championship," Cowherd said. "I came on this show before the Oklahoma game, and I said Oklahoma isn't going to score. Tennessee's got the best defense in college football, excellent coach, explosive offensively. I think Tennessee's the best team I've seen [this season]."

Tennessee's defense has surrendered just 125.3 passing yards (fourth in the SEC), 50.8 rushing yards (second), 176.0 total yards (first) and 7.0 points (fourth) per game this season. Offensively, the Volunteers are posting 275.8 passing yards (seventh), 290.0 rushing yards (first), 565.8 total yards (second) and 54.0 points (second) per game.

Colin Cowherd predicts Tennessee will win national title

In what's his first full season as the starting quarterback, Iamaleava has totaled 892 passing yards, seven passing touchdowns, two interceptions and a 176.2 passer rating, while completing 69.3% of his passes. He has also rushed for 117 yards and one touchdown. Meanwhile, running backs Dylan Sampson and DeSean Bishop have combined for 736 yards and 13 touchdowns on the ground.

Tennessee is in its fourth season with head coach Josh Heupel (2021-present), boasting a combined 31-12 record. The Volunteers had an 11-win season in 2022 and are coming off a nine-win 2023 campaign.

As for some of Tennessee's high-profile games the rest of the way, it plays No. 2 Georgia on the road and hosts No. 4 Alabama, among other games.

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