National analyst buying high on Tennessee

The Tennessee Volunteers are one of the more interesting squads heading into the 2023 college football season. Most analysts have them hovering around the fringe of the 12-team College Football Playoff, a projection that could slightly fluctuate depending on the performance of quarterback Nico Iamaleava.

247Sports national analyst Brad Crawfordoffered his thoughts on where the Vols sit amongst their SEC brethren next season. Their win total on several major betting services is 8.5, and Crawford took the over on that. He went through his thought process as to why Tennessee could return to a “first-tier bowl game” in the SEC this season behind several key returners and a reasonable schedule

“Tennessee’s a nine-win team in 2024, barring an unexpected hiccup in development from first-year starting quarterback Nico Iamaleava. Roster talent, coaching matchups and everything in-between is under the microscope when you’re picking over-unders, but schedule favorability should be deemed most important. Ignore the other factors for a second and consider this — Tennessee doesn’t play LSU, Texas or Ole Miss, and that’s three teams oddsmakers expect to hit 10 wins. What’s that tell you? Matchups with Georgia and Alabama are difficult and Florida always seems to be a thorn, but the Vols should eclipse this 8.5-win total if they’re able to take care of business against NC State (in Charlotte) and Oklahoma (on the road) in September.” – Brad Crawford on Tennessee