Why 2024 Tennessee football schedule's order of games will boost Vols' CFP hopes | Adams
SEC football has been all about change recently. Divisional play will fade into history next season when the conference morphs into one big 16-team league with the addition of Texas and Oklahoma.
But Tennessee fans still can find familiarity in UT’s 2024 schedule. The dates and opponents on each SEC team’s schedule were announced Wednesday on ESPN.
UT’s high-value games aren’t much different from the ones of 2023. The Vols will play longtime nemeses Alabama (Oct. 19) and Georgia (Nov. 16), which — barring cataclysmic occurrences — again should be in the running for the national championship.
Oklahoma is a new threat. But when viewed through a ’23 lens, it doesn’t look much different from Missouri, which drubbed the Vols 36-7 on the way to a 10-2 regular season that no one saw coming.
The Vols likely will be an underdog when they play Sept. 21 in Norman, Oklahoma. On the plus side, they won’t have to deal with quarterback Dillon Gabriel, who has transferred to Oregon and will be replaced by former five-star recruit Jackson Arnold. Tennessee fans can size up Arnold against Arizona in the Alamo Bowl.
The nonconference schedule will be accommodating, though not as favorable as this past season when the Vols received virtually no resistance in four games. NC State in Charlotte on Sept. 7 surely will be more threatening than Virginia in Nashville was this season.
Former SEC East rivals Kentucky (Nov. 2) and Vanderbilt (Nov. 30), who have a long history of showing up in UT’s win column, again should be manageable. The Vols should benefit from losing Texas A&M and gaining Mississippi State (Nov. 9). South Carolina is off the schedule, but Arkansas (Oct. 5) is of similar caliber. Both of them could be incompetent enough to get their coaches fired next season.
You could say the same for the Florida Gators (Oct. 12), who are headed for Year 3 of coach Billy Napier’s “laying-a-strong-foundation” plan, which seemingly is losing advocates daily. Florida also has lost prominent players to the transfer portal, such as running back Trevor Etienne and leading pass rusher Princely Umanmielen.
On the bright side, no Gators opted out of a bowl. But that’s only because Florida didn’t qualify for a bowl.
The order of games also will be more advantageous than this season's was. Two of Tennessee’s four losses came on back-to-back Saturdays against Missouri and Georgia, who outscored the Vols by a combined count of 74-17. UT probably won’t play consecutive games against nationally ranked teams in ’24.
The schedule certainly won’t discourage playoff fantasies among the fan base. Tennessee can prove its mettle against the likes of Oklahoma, Alabama and Georgia, then hope to register style points as a favorite in its other nine games.
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It’s a bit early to anoint the Vols as a playoff team. But there are positive signs, starting with heralded five-star Nico Iamaleava taking the quarterback reins. Also, there’s a chance Tennessee will return the most significant contributors in its offensive and defensive lines except for defensive end Tyler Baron.
And you know what they say about the SEC: It’s a line-of-scrimmage league. The addition of Texas and Oklahoma won’t change that.
John Adams is a senior columnist. He may be reached at 865-342-6284 or john.adams@knoxnews.com. Follow him at: twitter.com/johnadamskns.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee football schedule 2024 should boost UT Vols' playoff hopes
