Our Tennessee football predictions remain unchanged after Vols rout Virginia. Here's why
If you're majorly elevating your expectations for Tennessee football after its romp over Virginia, that suggests one of two things: Either you didn't expect much from the Vols initially, for some strange reason, or you're not understanding how bad Virginia is. The Cavaliers rank among the worst Power Five teams.
That said, we certainly saw nothing from Tennessee in its 49-13 joyride Saturday in Nashville to make us cool our expectations. We already had a lofty bar set for this team, and that's unchanged.
The Joe Show looked smooth. So did the run game. The Vols pressured the quarterback, and the pass coverage played to a level to suggest improvement. All good signs. Yes, there's a caveat. It's Virginia.
On this edition of "The Volunteer State," Blake Toppmeyer of the USA TODAY Network and the News Sentinel's Adam Sparks and John Adams re-examine their preseason projections for Tennessee and don't waver in their outlook.
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Here's how they see it:
Sparks: Do I think Tennessee will be better than I'd thought it would be, based off this result? No. I feel exactly the same as before. Throughout the preseason, I zeroed in on Tennessee compiling something around a 9-3 record. That prediction hasn't changed. I also thought Tennessee might inch toward becoming more balanced on offense and defense. Little step backward on offense as compared to 2022, and a little step forward on defense. Still feel the same way after Week 1.
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Toppmeyer: I had Tennessee pegged at 9-3. I'll stand by that, although I suppose if you said the Vols finished 10-2 or 8-4, I'd say 10-2 is likelier. That opinion isn't based heavily on Saturday's result in Nashville, though. It's based on how bad Florida and South Carolina looked in their respective openers. I've still got the Alabama and Georgia games in the likely loss column. Facing Texas A&M at home is an important swing game that could be the difference between 9-3 or 10-2.
MORE FROM TOPPMEYER: Brian Kelly calls LSU a 'total failure' after loss to Florida State. No argument here
Adams: What's all this talk of 9-3? My preseason pick had Tennessee going 10-2, and I'm certainly not backing off that idea after Tennessee passed the eye test Saturday. My biggest concern previously in predicting 10-2 had been a challenging game against South Carolina. With Week 1 results in mind, that no longer presents as a challenging game. And, maybe, I'm starting to think Alabama and Georgia show signs of vulnerability. Overall, I feel really good about UT's chances of going 10-2, at least.
MORE FROM ADAMS: Tennessee football overdue for a 70-point game. Thank you, Austin Peay
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Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network's SEC Columnist. John Adams is the News Sentinel's senior columnist. Adam Sparks covers the Vols. You can subscribe to read all their coverage, or check out the SEC Unfiltered newsletter, delivered straight to your inbox. They also host the lightly acclaimed "SEC Football Unfiltered" podcast.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee football predictions don't change after Vols rout Virginia
