Tennessee football will start the 2024 season two spots ahead of where it finished last season in the US LBM Coaches Poll.
The Vols are No. 15 in the preseason poll, released by USA TODAY on Monday.
The optimism around UT starts with quarterback Nico Iamaleava, the former five-star recruit, and defensive end James Pearce, a projected top-10 NFL Draft pick. They starred in the Vols’ 35-0 win over Iowa in the Citrus Bowl to finish the 2023 season.
UT opens the 2024 season at home against Chattanooga on Aug. 31 (12:45 p.m. ET, SEC Network). Then the Vols play No. 22 NC State in Charlotte on Sept. 7, their first of four games against teams ranked in the preseason poll.
Here is the preseason coaches poll and three takeaways for Tennessee.
US LBM Preseason Coaches PollGeorgia (13-1 last season)Ohio State (11-2)Oregon (12-2)Texas (12-2)Alabama (12-2)Mississippi (11-2)Notre Dame (10-3)Michigan (15-0)Penn State (10-3)Florida State (13-1)Missouri (11-2)LSU (10-3)Utah (8-5)Clemson (9-4)Tennessee (9-4)Oklahoma (10-3)Kansas State (9-4)Oklahoma State (10-4)Miami (Fla.) (7-6)Texas A&M (7-6)Arizona (10-3)North Carolina State (9-4)Southern California (8-5)Kansas (9-4)Iowa (10-4)Six SEC teams are ahead of Tennessee
The nation’s coaches agreed with SEC media, at least in where they picked the Vols.
No. 15 Tennessee is seventh among SEC teams in the preseason poll, trailing No. 1 Georgia, No. 4 Texas, No. 5 Alabama, No. 6 Ole Miss, No. 11 Missouri and No. 12 LSU.
That’s the same order as the SEC media preseason poll, except Missouri and LSU are swapped.
No. 16 Oklahoma and No. 20 Texas A&M give the SEC nine teams in the preseason Top 25. Auburn, Kentucky, Florida and South Carolina also received votes.
Two Top 25 games in first month for Vols
Tennessee could make or break its College Football Playoff chances in the first month of the season.
It plays No. 22 NC State in a neutral site game on Sept. 7 in the Duke’s Mayo Classic. Two weeks later, UT plays at No. 16 Oklahoma on Sept. 21 in its first true road game of the season.
Judging by their early schedules, NC State and Oklahoma likely will be undefeated and still ranked when they play the Vols.
UT hosts No. 5 Alabama on Oct. 19 at Neyland Stadium. And the Vols play at No. 1 Georgia on Nov. 16. The Top 25 could look drastically different for UT and its opponents when those critical games arrive. But they also could carry weight in the playoff race.
Josh Heupel doesn’t vote, but these coaches do
The panel of coaches voting changes every season. UT coach Josh Heupel is not a voter in 2024, and he hasn’t been since coming to UT in 2021.
From the SEC, Alabama’s Kalen DeBoer, Missouri’s Eliah Drinkwitz, Texas A&M’s Mike Elko, Vanderbilt’s Clark Lea, Georgia’s Kirby Smart and Kentucky’s Mark Stoops are voters this season.
The 2024 panel also includes former UT offensive coordinator Alex Golesh (now South Florida coach), former UT coach Butch Jones (now at Arkansas State) and former Vanderbilt coach Derek Mason (now at Middle Tennessee State).
Adam Sparks is the Tennessee football beat reporter. Email adam.sparks@knoxnews.com. X, formerly known as Twitter@AdamSparks. Support strong local journalism by subscribing at knoxnews.com/subscribe.
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Publish date : 2024-08-05 05:06:00
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