Tennessee Vols 2024 Game By Game Record Prediction | Josh Heupel, Nico Iamaleava To The PLAYOFF?

let's get after it here uh we did Nebraska we've done Oklahoma we did Colorado let's talk about Tennessee here so Tennessee I think is fascinating their over under win total is 8 and a half the Nico era has begun in Knoxville it's Nico time baby something we talk about a lot on this show okay I see the I see the live chat saying sip of caffeine no sip of caffeine but I will ask you if you're watching right now live go ahead find that subscribe button it helps us do more of what you want to see okay again college football less than 24 days away when you're watching this more than likely 24 less than 24 dial in with us all right subscribe to the channel if you're listening on podcast subscribe to the podcast feed we need everybody we need we need everybody dialed in for us here right to make this whole thing go we appreciate you for that all right so back to what I was saying the over under win total for Tennessee is eight and a half wins Tennessee fans are like Hey we're thinking way more than that in 2024 I respect it what's in house Nico yam malava I would I would say arguably the most anticipated quarterback since Tim TBO when he first got the keys to Florida's offense like I think that's the kind of hype and pressure on a guy like Nico the good news if you're a Tennessee fan I think he's built for it like there was a clip going around social media yesterday where Nico says yeah I like playing away games better I like the juice I'm like this guy's out of his mind this I mean that this guy's a little bit psychotic in the best way possible so nicoo IAM malava being wired that way I'm all about it it's a good vibe for Tennessee fans the other part of this and Jesse simonon National columnist for us here at on three has been pounding this drum for a minute now the 2022 defense at Tennessee left something to be desired with that Elite offense that's not what you have here in 2024 some new pieces in the secondary absolutely but you got James Pierce a top 15 pick if not a top 10 pick coming off the edge for you out there in Knoxville a lot more depth up front than you've had in a long time this is a defense now that's going to give you more than a chance like you you can lean on this defense you don't have to score every single possession if you're Tennessee you'd like it but you don't need it the quantity of Playmakers too we say it a lot on this show man I keep I keep referring back to things we've said previously on the show but it feels like the appropriate time before we break down every single game for Tennessee they got a lot more in house than they did previously like squirrel white last year was your guy besides that Brew McCoy was hurt Dante Thorton was hurt was also his first year in the system Chris Brazzle transferred from T Lane to Tennessee we got to see out there during spring practice y'all two words catch radius okay he can climb the ladder and go get it for you so you pair him with squirrel white with the young freshman Phenom Mike Matthews brw McCoy back healthy love the tight end room like Nico yam malava now is going to have a chance to uh distribute the football to several dudes that can make plays for you this is Josh hyp Tennessee every single thing on this roster the way they do things the culture the quarterback the system everything now in Knoxville Josh hyp can sign his name next to and say yep that's us there's there's no more ah well you know the previous staff that doesn't exist anymore this is Josh Hypes Tennessee so what do they do in 2024 from a wins loss perspective we're going to call our shot right now predicted first game of the year Chattanooga Dub City if it's not we got problems you have NC State in Charlotte neutral sight game neutral sight's probably in air quotes there but uh I mean with it being in Charlotte you imagine NC State will travel well this is the game now where you really got to build some confidence like this is going to be an early test for this team it's going to be the best test obviously to this point in the year for Nico like we got to we got to kind of figure it out here getting Rhythm if we know anything about NC State they play good defense they are the same every year doesn't matter who they lost they play good defense uh I think you do win that game but I think it's a bit of a battle now here's the one where it's like all right who are we you go to Oklahoma I believe college game day will be there that's just my gut this has to be the game where if you're Nico you grow up in front of everybody's eyes like this is the game where you say all right he has arrived this is the reason why we were so excited about him for the last two years really since he committed I think that he ends up having a coming out party I think it's back and forth I think Oklahoma will absolutely put up a tremendous fight but I do think that Tennessee wins that football game and then Tennessee heads into the buy undefeated coming out of out of the bu you got to go to Arkansas tricky place to play Arkansas is going to be Scrappy fighting for their lives think you win that game and then you play Florida if you're if you're a Tennessee fan you're like thank the Lord this one's in nand and not in the swamp might just be the way things fall this year for you where you get a couple of breaks Florida will be the same thing as Arkansas in the sense that they are going to be Scrappy as heck everyone's talking about Billy Napier and the hot seed and this and that I'm just telling you now that roster a lot better than folks would like to believe a lot better than folks want to give credit for however I do think you end up winning that football game at that point momentum is rolling now then you play Alabama this was the game in 2022 where you threw the goal post in the river Vibes were high I don't know that you win this football game I'm going to pick them to lose this one but the storylines going into it are are going to be fascinating like if Tennessee is rolling at that level is Alabama able to match them coming into that game is Alabama operating at the same clip you would expect them to be but like again new system for milro a lot of Young Bucks on defense we reserve the right to absolutely change our prediction on this game however right now feels like I'm going to lean towards they have a bit of a a hiccup if you will so I think they lose to Bama heading into the buy they beat Kentucky ky's going to be physical they'll be tough really good test now on a number of levels for Tennessee in this game both physically and psychologically because because psychologically you either have a massive win after Bama or you're coming off of a loss and you got to kind of recollect yourself either way you slice it you got to dial back in from a very emotional game against Alabama third Saturday in October you're probably drained emotionally if not even more so physically ky's going to be tough they're going to be disciplined you know what they are with Mark stups running that operation I think you win that football game and pass a massive test Mississippi State not to knock Jeff leby they win that football game you go to Georgia I think you lose this one Georgia just has the Personnel where they can win those one-on ones that Tennessee really to create we'll see what they are when we get here but I do think you end up losing that game you beat UTEP you beat vanderbelt hey don't look now Tennessee's 10- two first year with Nico iamal Avo running the show 10- two I think if you offer that to any Tennessee fan they take that tomorrow I really do 10- two means you're probably competing for a college football playoff spot we'll see where we put you tomorrow it also means that Nico is for real like all the hype all the pressure all the anticipation of what he was going to be the number one recruit in 2023 lives up to it his first year as the guy that says a lot about him physically y'all I would argue that says more about him mentally to be able to handle that pressure to be mature enough to be able to hear all the good things said about you and still play your best football still play good enough football to make you 10- two we should not Overlook that you got question mark sure we'll see what the offensive line is when it comes to depth we'll see what the secondary is I just think they're going to score a lot of points I think they're going to be deep enough at the key positions on the defensive side of the ball to hold up there into the bargain and uh I think this offense will look a lot like it did in 2022 this should reaffirm for a lot of Tennessee fans if you had any concern Josh Hy is your guy cuz 2022 was a ride 2023 was a little bit of a of a caffeine crash if you will because there was such high hopes 2024 should reaffirm like hey like don't let that guy walk out whatever you do I mean you you give him whatever he wants to keep him as the head coach for you out there in lasx Vegas so Tennessee we got him at 10 and two let me know what you have them on my social media platforms JY pel Twitter and Instagram like Hey Y'all thanks so much for watching subscribe to the channel here to make sure you don't miss an episode of the hard count also be sure to check out other videos on the Onre YouTube channel