Tennessee Predicted to Finish Top Five in SEC

The Tennessee Volunteers have been predicted to finish top five in the SEC this college football season.

Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel turns to quarterback Nico Iamaleava (8) after their post game interview after winning the Citrus Bowl NCAA College football game on Monday, January 1, 2024 in Orlando, Fla. against Iowa. / Saul Young/News Sentinel / USA TODAY

The Tennessee Volunteers have been predicted to finish top five in the SEC this college football season.

The SEC is loaded down this season. Both Texas and Georgia are considered favorites to win the national title with a conglomerate of other teams also expected to be playoff teams. The Tennessee Volunteers have somewhat been placed on the outside looking in this offseason, and that's what the latest SEC projections show as well.

Phil Steele released his predicted SEC standings at the end of the season and Tennessee came in at tied for number five along with LSU, Oklahoma and Missouri. The Volunteers will have some difficult games on the schedule this year with Alabama, Oklahoma and Georgia, the last two being on the road.

The biggest hope for Tennessee to finish higher in the SEC and to become a playoff team is for Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava to be pristine in his first season. If he has a massive breakout season in his first year as the starter then that might be enough to propel the Volunteers to a top-12 ranking when playoffs roll around. They will also need to him to have a breakout type year in order for th program to make it through those three games on their schedule.

All in all, it's going to be a highly competitive year for the SEC this season, and Tennessee will likely be right in the thick of it.

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