The Southeastern Conference expands to 16 teams on July 1, 2024, and with that comes two more powerhouse programs to compete for the SEC Championship. Tennessee football is coming off three straight winning seasons, but it will face a tough fight if it wants to win the conference in 2024.
Since the SEC is eliminating divisions, the Vols won’t have to worry about divisional foes like Florida, Georgia, or South Carolina, but they will still have to finish in the top two of the conference standings at the end of the season to earn a trip to Atlanta.
That is not to say that the Vols do not have a chance of pulling off the unthinkable. Tennessee is replacing a lot of talent on both sides of the ball, thus they are slipping under the radar of many college football observers. The Vols are replacing one position, quarterback, but the redshirt freshman replacement has Heisman Trophy potential.
Nico Iamaleava, a freshman quarterback, has been given the keys to the offense. CBS’ Josh Pate feels he’s a potential star who will help the Vols be a far better football team than many people think they are heading into the summer.
“Tennessee is a huge sleeper team in the SEC,” Pate stated. “They have the sixth-best odds of winning the league. Nico Iamaleava is going to be a superstar.
Tennessee joins Penn State, Louisville, and Arizona as some of the most underestimated teams in major conferences. Pate believes the Vols are the SEC’s biggest sleeper team, but that might change once the Big Orange take the field in the fall.
The Vols are beginning their fourth season under head coach Josh Heupel, who has three consecutive winning seasons in Knoxville. He’s 27-12 as Tennessee’s head coach and is about to put his third quarterback on the field in four years, with one of college football’s highest ceilings.
While Tennessee is anticipated to finish at or around fifth in the SEC this year, it’s not far from saying the Vols could win a handful of coin flips.
