Is Tennessee Football A LEGITIMATE SEC Title Contender?

hello again we are Chris Lee and Chase Robinson of South Eastern 16 looking at the question is Tennessee a legitimate SEC title Contender some of that is going to be how good is the balls roster some of that is going to be do the balls have a schedule that is favorable to get them there we'll be examining both those parts but first Chase who sponsors this content that's right that is BET online and they are the world's most trusted betting platform and your number one source for everything football and that's football season and they've got you covered everything from preseason NFL to college football kicking off every stat every matchup and even live odds and spreads while the games are being played think you know your stuff get in on a winner take all $300,000 NFL Survivor pool for the upcoming season and when the game's over you can go to the online casino get in on a game of blackjack or poker or one of the over 150 slots games head over to the website today and use promo code believe bav V and get in on the action bet online the game starts here all right let's start with the roster let's start at quarterback and I think everybody knows the story of Nico iamal Ava I think the talent is there everybody believes that we saw a glimpse of it in the bowl game against Iowa so I would say and this is being presumptive right the kids had one career start but if we trust the people out there who' seen him I think Nico's got the talent to to maybe get the BS pretty far are we in agreement there yes I think so I I 100% agree all right let's move on to some other spots and then again that's that's a question but we're just going to presume that for this I think Dylan Samson their running back is one of the more underrated players in the league squirrel White and the slot is one of the League's better slot receivers they've got other Talent around them they've got Brew McCoy Dante Thornton they brought in Chris Brazzle the from T lanee and oh by the way Mike Matthews five-star freshman Chaz Nimrod he's still around uh they improved at tight end with holding stays from Notre Dame um I I think the targets and the guys to hand off to feels like Tennessee's got enough there it may not be the superstars that everybody else has got but I really like their depth and I and again I think Samson could lead the league in rushing by the time it's done I really like Dylan Samson and we've talked about him here on this channel a lot um I feel like he's one of those backs you you said it he's a little flying under the radar but I feel like by Midway through the season he could be uh a guy who's up towards the top of of rushing in the SEC really like him and then you mentioned the targets as well Brew McCoy who uh has has battled some injury uh squirrel white who I think is a great receiver Chris Brazzle Dante Thorton Caleb Webb uh those are guys who are going to get a lot of touches I feel like and then you mentioned Mike Matthews like where does he fit into this uh is is is his high school numbers going to transfer in as as uh I'm sure he'll get some some targets there at receivers so yeah their their skill guys I think are on par with with like what we saw in 22 uh maybe a little better um Nico yam malava is like we said he's a guy that can get them places uh that's what kind of quarterback is extremely talented and to have the pieces he has around him because he's a dual threat guy he can he can throw he can run and so to add other guys around him who also can can do big things like a squirrel white like a brew McCoy like a Dylan Samson uh I feel like the offense is in really good shape right and again they we haven't seen them play a game yet uh but I feel like from the outside looking in this offense is in really good shape all right next question or next area I'm going to look at as off line I look for a couple things I look for star power and continuity star power they've got Cooper Mae at Center who's been there forever preseason All-American candidate they got Lance herd at left tackle and and he's going to be new he's not started before but we know the reason he was playing behind two first rounders at LSU he was a top 25 recruit out of high school you would presume he will man left tackle pretty well you look at right tackle John Campbell started nine times a year ago uh you look at depth um they've got guys like Andre kek Jackson Lampley uh splitting time at that left guard position both of them made starts a year ago um they've got reic over at Right Guard who I think played 11 games for them a year ago they got danne Davis backing up Campbell at right tackle he made three starts a year ago I feel like that's a pretty good combination of of talent and experience and oh by the way I forgot to mention javante spragin at Right Guard who's also getting some preseason L SEC love so if you're if you're scoring at home here you got two potential preseason all SEC candidates in herd and spragin and then you've got a preseason allamerican and Maz plus a lot of guys that played a lot of snaps I feel like their offensive line has been a strength for them uh since Josh hyp has been the head coach and it feels on paper they're headed that way again it really does I feel like he's that's one of his main focuses you know he he's an offensive guy he was a quarter back at Oklahoma he understands the importance of offensive line and he recruits that way and it's obvious this year I feel like with the offensive line that they have to go along where the West rest of the weapons that are on the offense uh he know they they've been waiting for em alava to take over at quarterback and so hpel knew he has to have a good offensive line to uh to kind of lead the way for IAM malava to do what he knows he can do to open up some room for Dylan Sam to provide time for Nico to get the ball out of his hands to a guy like squirrel Wyatt or Brew McCoy and so I feel like the offense is shaping up to be really good and yes they have all the star power but this offensive line I feel like is going to be the reason that Tennessee puts the points up that they do we know it starts in the trenches but I really like these guys they have on the offensive line well speaking of the trenches we haven't even gotten to the guy that is presumably Tennessee's best player that's James Pierce Jr who's Manning one Edge on the defensive side side potential number one overall pick in next year's NFL Draft they have a couple of guys inside andari Thomas and Omar Norman lot who played a lot of ball who were getting some love as preseason SEC guy all SEC guys now the secondary is where I've got some questions and I'll get to that in a minute but it helps a whole lot when you got guys that are cutting down the windows in terms of time and angles that a guy's got to throw and so I think that's going to help Tennessee where they are probably relatively weaker yes um and and you're right there there's a lot of questions in the secondary but they've made up for it on the defensive front and you know will that benefit the secondary of having such a strong uh defensive line probably so and uh and I think we'll see that this year but they do have some dudes up front and I think that's going to be very good for Tennessee this year even with and and again the the guys in the the secondary the more ball they play the better they get we know that so you know by midseason it's going to look much different than it does at the beginning of the Season uh but yeah I really like the defensive front that is definitely a strong point for this Tennessee team this year okay the back seven is I think where we've got more of the questions and I'm not saying they're bad here I'm just saying yeah they are questionable relative to the other SEC teams now where they get a boost kenely is back he got hurt the first game of a year ago I think he's 26 or 27 years old maybe older than that um I think that's about right though class of 2016 they get him back Manning the middle linebacker spot that was a luxury they didn't have a year ago they've got some other good players there but just guys that have not been Frontline guys Arian Carter um one guy at the star position Jordan Thomas played a lot not been a starter they reloaded at corner they got jamod McCoy from Oregon State Jaylen McMurray at Temple we'll see how those guys do on a bigger stage they lost a lot in the defensive back field brought in jacobe Thomas from Middle Tennessee State who had a really Stellar campaign there year ago again I'm not saying they're bad in the secondary I'm just saying when you look at the rest of the roster which is loaded with All-Star candidates and most those other areas this is where they're not so much stacked with topend Talent all Americans preseason all SEC guys again you do have though that defensive line that think could probably mitigate a lot of those questions yeah certainly will and uh I I think defensive line is going to be the name of the game for Tennessee this year uh especially with that anchor of James Pierce Jr uh but and and I feel like the secondary is just going to come along and and get better as the year goes by but yeah that that defensive front is is a big exclamation point for this tenness team this year all right let's talk schedule and and I'm not saying Tennessee schedule is easy don't don't hear me don't get it wrong okay uh Tennessee has got some tough games on here North Carolina State Tennessee has got a road trip to Oklahoma it's got to play Florida which is always tricky it's got to play Alabama but both those are home it's got a road trip to Georgia but I started looking I've got a way that I kind of measure the schedules through an index of some computer rankings there's about five of them I won't bore you with the details but just the numbers strength the schedule overall for all the FBS games Tennessee ranked in strength the schedule 15 of 16 teams um only Missouri had a weaker schedule by this measure now we we can argue does Tennessee have a tougher schedule than Texas or or Auburn or some teams right in front of them it's all really close okay I'm just telling you the number the computer spit out Tennessee is going to be favored by roughly 170 points in its games it's going to be favored roughly eight of 11 times in in its games against FBS teams at in another time where it'll be favored against Chattanooga in the opener FCS team so I think the schedule starting out favored nine times uh and big favorites in a lot of these although I think the question you know the problem is this schedule is kind of un unbalanced there's a lot of pretty easy games in there uh for example I I'll give you these uh Tennessee is going to be roughly oh gosh a 42o favorite against Kent State it's going to be a double digit favorite probably to Arkansas they'll not by a lot probably be a double digigit favorite around 10 and a half against Kentucky probably around a I don't know 19point favorite against Mississippi State right now uh and then favorites in a big way utap be probably a 37o favorite and at Vandy probably 21 and a half is is the number I'm looking at compared to this model I've built now the problem is you you built up your strength to schedule with some easier games but then you've got to play three really really tough ones at Oklahoma Alabama at home and at Georgia uh Tennessee will probably be a slight Underdog by battle field goal at Oklahoma probably about a four and a half Point Underdog to Tenn to Alabama at home as I'm looking at this today and then probably a 17-point underdog at Georgia so the schedule though it suggests on the whole it's easier once you start digging into it a little bit uh because frankly I I'd rather play two mediocre teams than than a title Contender and a bad one and have the numbers balance it out so I think those are all angles of the Tennessee schedule I still still think their schedule Stacks up favorably um but I think you you got to get to you got to get to 10 and two and is there a path here I think there is Chase I think Oklahoma's going to be a slight favorite in Norman early that'll be a big game I think Tennessee's capable of beating Alabama at home we saw what happened last time now at Georgia good luck to you but I think you kind of get a pass on that one and if if you're Tennessee if you can take care of just one of two at Oklahoma or Alabama that's assuming get by NC State in week two I think Tennessee is squarely in there at 10 and two then that's going to be who else did what right but that that gets you in contention um for the title I I guess the issue is uh if we're talking SEC title you really gotta probably win two of those three that might be where it gets tough but it's doable yeah it is and I feel like there there's so much that hangs on this Oklahoma game for Tennessee if they win that one I feel like you're in good shape at that point yes you have Alabama yes you have Georgia and a handful of other SEC games that obviously it's the SEC Anything Can Happen uh but I feel like you get Oklahoma you're feeling much better uh then if you get Alabama you're feeling really good uh and and you'll have Georgia later in November but I feel like a lot hangs on that Oklahoma game if if you drop that game I feel like you're your SEC title contentions um go way down at that point so you get oklah I feel like Tennessee is in a a really good spot because I think a lot of crazy things are going to happen in SEC football this year um that that that could change the the outcome in the course of of what happens so uh it's going to be hard for any team to go unbeaten we've said that um because the the schedules are just are are way tougher now uh with with taking away the East and the west and so but but for Tennessee for them to get to the SEC title game I think it starts with with winning this game at Oklahoma and you're in a much better position if that happens yeah I think if they I'm gonna presume if they go to Oklahoma and win they will beat an NC State and Charlotte I think at that point if they go to Oklahoma and get that one and I think that is a fascinating matchup to me at that point um I don't know that that that may be their key game I it's hard to say because we don't know how the tiebreakers going to come down but I feel like if Tennessee can get that one they're on the short list of of teams that we'll see in Atlanta yeah I think it very well could be again a lot hangs on that game and and it could be a fun year for the BS no doubt now tell me am I crazy here I like Tennessee's chances of beating Alabama and Knox even though the numbers say they're going to be a bigger Underdog that I do them winning in Norman I just think we saw how last time Knoxville just went bananas for that game yeah Alabama couldn't hear itself think um Tennessee kicked that that knuckle ball field goal at the end to to win it and you know it just all pandemonium broke loose I feel like especially if they get Oklahoma in that early game that is going to be a bananas atmosphere and I I think um I don't know I I think Alabama to me is a little down by Alabama standards and I think that one's very getable based on what we've seen I again I think the Oklahoma game is is key because if you win that one and you beat Alabama then then really you know the Georgia game is a little bit of a mulligan in terms of the playoff and maybe the SEC title too I I agree with you there I mean yeah noxville is a tough place to play and you know yeah Alabama struggled there last time and and those fans remember that and uh they remember beating or or uh having that lead in the first half against Alabama last year and the tide charging back and winning that game in tuscal so yeah Tennessee will be fired up for this Alabama game uh there's no doubt about it so yeah I would agree with that statement yeah well it's going to be a fun year to watch the vs it all starts August 31st at 11:45 Central against Chattanooga and then the next week it gets real with that game against NC State in Charlotte we'll be here to cover all of it we cover SEC football baseball and basketball year round wall toall best way to see our content hit that subscribe button whether you're watching on YouTube or your podcast platform and hit the like button it helps our analytics and if you're interested in advertising we reach millions of people a year caroline. Smith southeaster 14.com is where you direct your advertising inquiries for Chase Robinson I'm Chris Lee you are watching sou Eastern 16 presented by bet online