It’s no secret that Tennessee has struggled to be competitive in recent years, but if the last two seasons are any indication, coach Butch Jones definitely has his team headed in the right direction. The Vols have improved each and every season under his guidance, and the upcoming 2016 season appears to be the most promising yet.
Tennessee Volunteeers Regular Season Win Total Odds at BookMaker.eu
Volunteers Over 9.5 Wins +105
Volunteers Under 9.5 Wins -125
2015 TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS SEASON REVIEW
Perhaps the best phrase to sum up Tennessee’s 2015 season is “pleasantly frustrating.” There was improvement and Tennessee never looked overmatched. Nine wins, including ending the season with a bowl blowout of a top-15 Northwestern team, definitely was pleasant. But giving up two double-digit fourth-quarter leads, one of which cost the Vols the SEC East title, was frustrating. It’s not unrealistic to think Tennessee could have finished the season in the top 10.
Tennessee went 9-4 last season, losing all four games by a combined total of just 17 points. They were highly competitive against every team that they played, including tough losses to eventual national champion Alabama and fellow College Football Playoff participant Oklahoma.
Tennessee won two more games than it did in 2014, won another bowl in emphatic fashion and saw losing streaks to Georgia and Missouri come to an end. The season also showed that with a tweak here and there, both on the field and on the sideline, this program is ready to compete with just about anyone in the country.
WHAT CHANGED
Tennessee was very close to turning the corner in 2015, so logic alone says that improvement is inevitable for a more experienced team that returns practically all of its top players. The Vols finished 9-4, they were competitive in every game, and they scored a dominant bowl win over a higher ranked opponent. When you factor in an additional year of experience and solid depth at every position, it becomes fairly clear why Tennessee is projected to win the SEC East.
The X-factor is whether Josh Dobbs finally develops into a masterful passer to match the boost he gives the Volunteers as a runner. Even if he finishes his Tennessee career without adding the deep ball to his repertoire, teams struggle to bring him down in the open field, making him a guaranteed net positive on the offense. But if Dobbs does grow as a passer, it doesn’t seem like a stretch to say the Vols can contend for a CFB Playoff spot.
2016 TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS REGULAR SEASON SCHEDULE
Sep. 1: vs. Appalachian State
Sep. 10: vs. Virginia Tech
Sep. 17: vs. Ohio
Sep. 24: vs. Florida
Oct. 1: at Georgia
Oct. 8: at Texas AM
Oct. 15: vs. Alabama
Oct. 29: at South Carolina
Nov. 5: vs. Tennessee Tech
Nov. 12: vs. Kentucky
Nov. 19: vs. Missouri
Nov. 26: at Vanderbilt
2016 TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS SEASON PREVIEW
Tennessee was a trendy darkhorse pick in 2015 and almost lived up to that hype. The Vols almost upset Oklahoma at home, they almost beat Florida on the road, and they almost stunned Alabama in Tuscaloosa. This year, the Vols look to turn those "almosts" into actualities.
They have the roster to do it. Dobbs is now a grizzled veteran at quarterback with talented running backs Jalen Hurd and Alvin Kamara carrying the workload in the backfield. On defense, Derek Barnett, Jalen Reeves-Maybin, Cameron Sutton and Todd Kelly Jr. are all really good players and that entire unit should be even better this year.
The roster is there and the schedule provides an opportunity for them to be a 10-win team for the first time in the regular season since 2004. Alabama must come to Knoxville, as will Florida, and the Vols' toughest non-conference game is against a Virginia Tech team in Bristol, Tennessee. Road games at Georgia, Texas AM and in-state rival Vanderbilt could prove to be stumbling blocks, but it’s hard not to like all that talent and the experience gained from last season.
College Football Odds: Tennessee Volunteers Over 9.5 Wins
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