It's tough to believe that it has been 14 years since the Tennessee Volunteers were anywhere near relevant.
That was the last time they won 11 games in a season, and it has been 17 years since the team has won the National Championship. If the Vols are going to get back to relevance though, this is the year for it to happen.
2015 SCHEDULE
9/5: vs. Bowling Green (at LP Field)
9/12: at Oklahoma
9/19: vs. Western Carolina
9/26: at Florida
10/3: vs. Arkansas
10/10: vs. Georgia
10/24: at Alabama
10/31: at Kentucky
11/7: vs. South Carolina
11/14: vs. North Texas
11/21: at Missouri
11/28: vs. Vanderbilt
The first thing that stands out on this schedule is the quantity of really difficult road games. The Volunteers have to visit Oklahoma, Florida, Alabama, Kentucky and Missouri, and though most of the really tough ones are out of the way early on, that could prove to be devastating for a club which really needs some positive things to happen to it to get on a roll.
SEASON WIN TOTAL
An over/under of seven wins feels about right for UT. The men from Rocky Top clearly have two games they are losing (at Oklahoma, at Alabama) along with at least three other games in which they won't be favored (at Florida, vs. Arkansas, vs. Georgia). The end of the schedule does loosen up though, and you'd like to think that the Volunteers will get at least three of their four games in November, if not all four.
OFFENSIVE OUTLOOK
All 11 starters from last year's team are back for the Volunteers on this side of the ball, and this is the year which Butch Jones was shooting at immediately to get his brand of high-octane offense installed in Knoxville.
Joshua Dobbs still hasn't put together a good year in his career, but he did show some promise down the stretch of last season, using both his arm and his legs to move the ball down the field. Still, Jalen Hurd can expect to get the ball in his gut 200 times this year at least, as he is a bruising back capable of making things happen in the SEC.
We question whether Tennessee really has the ability to stretch the field with any of these wide receivers, but all of the main ones from last season are back and capable of 500+ yard campaigns.
DEFENSIVE OUTLOOK
Tennessee's defense wasn't bad last season, allowing 364.6 yards and 24.2 points per game. The team has two All-SEC performers in Derek Barnett and Curt Maggitt, and we believe that the former is in for a massive season as a sophomore. Barnett can rush the passer like it's nobody's business, and in the SEC, many of the quarterbacks are statues in the pocket and can be run down.
A total of eight starters are back from last year's defense, and the only real weakness seems to be at corner, where Cameron Sutton is really the only good option in terms of returners from last year.
SEASON PREDICTION
Tennessee could both fail to beat this season win total and still contend in the SEC East, but we think that this is going to end up being a good year on Rocky Top.
Getting to eight wins wouldn't be viewed as a tremendous accomplishment, but we see it as such. If Dobbs shows improvement, the SEC East title is definitely up for grabs. We even think that getting to as many as 10 wins is entirely possible.
Taking the Volunteers to win the SEC East at +230 is a nice price, especially knowing that the game against Georgia is at home. Still, it would be lofty to believe that this team can legitimately contend for a National Championship, even at the tempting price of 70 to 1.
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