Sixty-nine days before the opening kickoff seems like a safe enough time to discuss Tennessee’s football schedule.
If I am right, I can remind you from time to time.
If I am wrong, perhaps you will have forgotten what I said. For some strange reason, readers of westwords seem to forget a lot.
Just for background, two weeks ago CBS Sports thought the Vols would go backwards from last season and win only seven – Furman, Georgia Tech, Kennesaw State, Auburn, Arkansas, Kentucky and Vanderbilt.
It has since revised its forecast to include a great victory over LSU.
I don’t know who speaks for CBS. Surely it wasn’t old Vol Charles Davis who is picking the Gamecocks to win. Maybe it was Rick Neuheisel or Randy Cross.
FanDuel, one of the gambling houses that spends a lot on advertising, set 6.5 victories as the over-under for the Volunteers. Betters jumped on the over. FanDuel promptly adjusted to 7.5.
National sports media, which hasn’t been here and knows only what it has been told, seems to be copy-catting on seven or eight wins. More daring columnists are saying nine. Those few who resent the color orange or are hoping to make Josh Heupel look like a failure are forecasting 10 and a place in the playoffs.
There is a Bill of Rights for ESPN, Paul Finebaum, the SEC Network and Tennessee fans. They can say anything. All have vested interests.
I see some advantage in having four of the first five games at home. Shields-Watkins Field used to be worth almost a touchdown. Last season, the Vols lost three of four to visiting SEC foes.
It seems strange to be playing two foes from Georgia but not the Georgia Bulldogs. That is a by-product of the nine-game Southeastern Conference mandate.
Jerry Mack
The Vols will play Kennesaw State. For perspective, its home stadium capacity is 10,200. There is a UT connection. Heupel’s former running backs coach Jerry Mack is now the head coach of the Owls. He has already set a world turnaround record. He took over a 2-10 team and changed it to 10-4 and Conference USA champs.
Regarding Georgia Tech at Bobby Dodd Stadium, I say beware. This game is too early for the Vols’ young quarterbacks and Jim Knowles’ reconstructed defense.
The Yellow Jackets went 9-4 last season. Gone is veteran QB Haynes King but Tech brought in Indiana transfer Alberto Mendoza, younger brother of Indiana national champion Fernando Mendoza. Famous name, talent to be determined.
ESPN says Texas at Neyland Stadium on September 26 will be the defining game of the Tennessee season. It could be – but only if the Vols can put the heat on Arch Manning and upset the Longhorns.
The worst part of a loss to Texas would be all the baloney about which team is the authentic UT.
Alex Golesh
There will be an undercurrent to the Auburn game. The Tigers’ new coach, Alex Golesh, was Heupel’s offensive coordinator at Central Florida. He came with Josh to Tennessee and helped set eight team records, including the best offense in school history.
Some proclaim Golesh to be very, very bright. It would not be good for Heupel to lose to Golesh.
Tennessee must go to Arkansas on October 10. Tennessee projects as the stronger team but a lot of bad things have happened to Volunteers in Fayetteville in an assortment of sports.
I hope Alabama at Neyland Stadium is a toss-up game. Tide coach Kalen DeBoer hasn’t convinced me yet but school leadership gave him a seven-year contract extension and raised his salary to $12.5 million.
South Carolina catches a break. It has an open date to prepare for the Vols while they are fighting for their life against the Crimson Tide.
The Gamecocks will have a different look on offense. Shane Beamer, 4-8 last season, brought in Kendal Briles as coordinator.
Kentucky will for sure have a new look. The Wildcats finally bought out Mark Stoops and hired Oregon assistant Will Stein as coach. He scored high in the transfer portal (including Notre Dame quarterback Kenny Minchey and Vol tackle Lance Heard).
I have Texas A&M at College Stadium as a probable loss. You and I can only hope LSU at Neyland Stadium on November 21 is not two in a row.
Lane Kiffin has assembled one of the best rosters money can buy and made the game more personal by taking Tennessee transfers Jordan Ross and William Satterwhite and adding Tee Martin as an analyst.
Vol fans might help equalize this one. Please do not throw mustard bottles.
John Majors was first to tell me “They remember what you do in November.”
Believe me, we do. Heupel really needs to beat Vanderbilt in Nashville.
My season outlook, at the moment, subject to change when/if the Vol quarterback race is settled, is 8-4. Keep it a secret.
Marvin West welcomes comments or questions from readers. His address is marvinwest75@gmail.com
Hard to argue with anything you have written. Just hope we can make some QB decisions before we get too far into the season. As the old saying goes, A team with 2 QBs has no QBs.
By the way, you used to umpire my Little League games when I was playing at Chilhowee Park with my good, long-time friend, Ross Greene.
Keep up the good work. I’ll continue to look forward to your cogent and often witty observations.
Marvin, let’s look at it realistically, with sure wins, probable losses, and tossups. Wins (4) Furman, Kennesaw, Uk, Vandy (at Vandy but without smartypants) Probable losses (3) Texas, (Just too talented and well coached) A&M, (Not beating them at Kyle Field) & LSU ( Texas description applies).
So 4-3 with 5 tossups– GT (on the road vs a good team) Auburn (Golesh is dangerous) Arkansas (If you beat Auburn, at Fayetteville is a trap) ALA (will be ranked top 10 and is more talented) SCAR (You could lose to bama twice right here) So split the tossups and you have 2.5 wins 2.5 losses. 6.5 -5.5, round it up to 7-5. With an unproven QB, that seems realistic. Your prediction of 8-4 just might be prophetic. Thanks Mr. West for giving us some much needed Football conversation! The offseason is long, and soccer ain’t real football.
Keep 8-4 a secret? That would be Epstein File like. You have proclaimed that westwords readers tend to forget a lot. I resemble that remark. Speaking personally, I sort my vast knowledge into compartments; some is just more difficult to reach. A reasonable piece by someone I read opined that ’26 would be a “building year” for the Vols; a quarterback (one or the other) would develope, young talent would gain experiencce and ’27 would be the year they would “go for it.” Further, Vol fans should be patient. I went along for the ride until that last bit. Vol fans patient? When the cow jumps over the moon.