While it is true that Tennessee lost a lot of talent during the offseason, their schedule for once, is not the gauntlet like it has been in season’s past. Five of their first six games are at home before they go on the road to Alabama and Kentucky. The Vols have three SEC East games in their first six, and if they win those games, it would give them a major leg up going into the stretch run of the season.
The worst stretch of the season includes four straight SEC games, however the first two are at home and three of the four opponents include a growing South Carolina, a Georgia team looking for an identity, and a Kentucky team that bends over for Butch every year he’s been at Tennessee.
The Vols also bring back 16 starters from last season, just one shy of the amount from the 2015 roster, therefore youth will not be an excuse this season. Other than Georgia, no other team in the East has as much talent returning on both sides of the ball.
The Vols definitely fell short of their ranking of seventh in the 2016 preseason rankings, but if all goes well, they could easily find themselves in the top ten before the season is over.
What do you think of the ranking? Fair? Unfair? Just right? Let us know!
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