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Tennessee Football: Way-too-early game-by-game predictions for 2022

By Jackson Caudell

Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker (5) hands the ball off to Tennessee running back Jaylen Wright (20) during the 2021 TransPerfect Music City Bowl between Tennessee and Purdue at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tenn., on Thursday, Dec. 30, 2021.Bowl Cm 1230 11
Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker (5) hands the ball off to Tennessee running back Jaylen Wright (20) during the 2021 TransPerfect Music City Bowl between Tennessee and Purdue at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tenn., on Thursday, Dec. 30, 2021.Bowl Cm 1230 11 /
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Tennessee football had an exciting offense and one of the best quarterbacks in the SEC in 2021. What will the Volunteers’ record be in 2022?

One of the themes next season in the SEC will be which teams that outperformed expectations can keep the momentum in 2022?

South Carolina and Arkansas were teams that got to a bowl game when nobody expected them to. The other team that fits into that category is Tennessee Football.

The Volunteers were coming off of an offseason where they fired former coach Jeremy Pruitt and were in the middle of an NCAA investigation regarding self-reported recruiting violations.

Tennessee hired UCF AD Danny White, who then hired the coach of the Golden Knights, Josh Heupel. Many thought this was a bad hire, but Heupel quickly showed what he can bring to Knoxville and he has generated a lot of excitement around the program heading into the 2022 season.

Tennessee was competitive in games last season due to their high-powered offense, which was something that Tennessee had not been used to before. Virginia Tech transfer quarterback Hendon Hooker did not start the year out as the starter, but he was one of the best quarterbacks in the SEC by the time the season was over. The passing attack was one of the most lethal in the SEC and Tennessee competed in most games.

The challenge for Tennessee is going to be learning to play with expectations. The defense is also going to have to take a step up as well. It was one of the worst in the conference last season and that was on full display in the bowl loss to Purdue. There is potential for Tennessee to reach eight or nine wins, but they will have to navigate a tough schedule to get there.

Here are the way-too-early game predictions for Tennessee in 2022.

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