5 worst states for college football entering the 2022 season

3. Tennessee

The shortcomings surrounding the state of Tennessee’s college football footprint have less to do with their programs’ own issues and more about what is happening in front of them. This is especially the case with the Tennessee Volunteers.

The Vols defied the odds that many (including myself) had given them with new head coach Josh Heupel on the scene. However, his first season with the unfortunate SEC program could have gone much worse than it did.

But despite this, the conference could still very easily move on without them. Alabama, LSU, Texas A&M, Auburn, Arkansas, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Georgia, Kentucky, Florida, Missouri, and South Carolina all have one thing in common: they will have a chance to be better than Tennessee next season.

That is the vast majority of the SEC that I just listed. The only name that I did not include? Vanderbilt, the only other Power Five team in the state will be lucky to see even two victories in 2022.

In regards to recruiting, the Volunteers haven’t been too shabby, nabbing seven four-star talents in their 2022 haul. However, their efforts have still only managed to get them to eighth place in the SEC standings. And as for the Commodores, they are dead-last.

With those two representing the state at college football’s highest level, the future is looking quite bleak. The SEC is brutal for anyone less than perfect, and that won’t change once the Texas Longhorns and Oklahoma Sooners come to town.