Vols football has a blank slate set in front of them with a brand new head coach. What are the best and worst case scenarios for Tennessee in 2018?
All things considered, Jeremy Pruitt was an excellent hire for Vols football. He’s started the long process of restoring a once-proud program to national relevancy and it isn’t going to happen overnight.
Tennessee is going to have to walk before it can crawl, and playing in the SEC isn’t going to do them any favors. They’re one of a select group of teams that will play not one, but two teams that made the College Football Playoff last season. That sets up for a challenging slate for the Vols.
Here are the best and worst case scenario for Tennessee in 2018:
Best case scenario
- Sep 1 – vs (N) West Virginia – L
- Sep 8 – vs East Tennessee State – W
- Sep 15 – vs UTEP – W
- Sep 22 – vs Florida – L
- Sep 29 – @ Georgia – L
- Oct 13 – @ Auburn – L
- Oct 20 – vs Alabama – L
- Oct 27 – @ South Carolina – L
- Nov 3 – vs Charlotte – W
- Nov 10 – vs Kentucky – W
- Nov 17 – vs Missouri – L
- Nov 24 – @ Vanderbilt – W
Result: 5-7
This team won’t be a bowl team. A five-game stretch between Sep. 22 against Florida and Oct. 27 against South Carolina includes three road games and a murders row of elite competition. An upset against Missouri later in the season is slightly more plausible, but the Tigers have Drew Lock and Tennessee has Keller Chryst. That statement says enough.
Worst case scenario
- Sep 1 – vs (N) West Virginia – L
- Sep 8 – vs East Tennessee State – W
- Sep 15 – vs UTEP – W
- Sep 22 – vs Florida – L
- Sep 29 – @ Georgia – L
- Oct 13 – @ Auburn – L
- Oct 20 – vs Alabama – L
- Oct 27 – @ South Carolina – L
- Nov 3 – vs Charlotte – W
- Nov 10 – vs Kentucky – L
- Nov 17 – vs Missouri – L
- Nov 24 – @ Vanderbilt – W
Result: 4-8
The ceiling for Tennessee is low next season, meaning the floor isn’t much lower. Outside of a swing game at home against Kentucky, the Vols should have a pretty decent understanding of where they stand relative to their peers before their bye week in early October.
Four or five wins won’t win Pruitt any popularity contests in Knoxville, but the Vols’ program needs a lot more effort put into it than people think. Pruitt might very well be the right man for the job, but just like Rome, the Vols’ football program wasn’t built over night.