Re-Ranking Tennessee’s 2014 Opponents

Earlier today, as I was finishing my delicious Spicy Italian Subway sandwich (not a paid endorsement, I just really love those things. That pepperoni is damn good, but I digress), I was searching for some paper to jot down a grocery list with the wife. I found the blank sheet of paper I was looking for, but I also came across a piece of paper with 12 team names on it. Ah, the paper I used just a couple of months ago to write down my rankings of Tennessee’s 2014 opponents.

At first glance I cringed. On second glance, I cringed more. While I was close on a couple of teams, I couldn’t have been more wrong about others.

I mean Ole Miss at #6? Vanderbilt at #8? The fact that I had only one team separating Ole Miss and Vandy is more than laughable. It’s embarrasing. It also taught me how little we truly know about preseason football.

All these lists that we compile in June, July and August are certainly fun. They help to pass the time while we anxiously await the greatest regular season in all of sports. But to put it bluntly — they’re useles. I mean if you view them as just pure entertainment, a method for wasting time when you should be working, then I guess they do serve a purpose — albeit a minor one.

But we do them because they really are fun. They’re fun to compile, they’re fun to read (trust me I read everyone elses). They create debate and isn’t that what sports is all about? We spend countless hours during the week, and offseason, debating what will transpire over a three hour time period on a Saturday afternoon. On Sunday, we talk about what happened and then start the cycle all over on Monday. It’s simplistic at best, but it’s what we do.

I suppose the thing for me to do now is to re-rank Tennessee’s 2014 opponents and put them in their proper order. Something I tried (unsuccessfully) to do in the summer months. So here goes — (I’ll spare you the slideshow, but just this once)

Here’s how I had them ranked back in July.

12. Chattanooga

11. Kentucky

10. Arkansas State

9. Utah State

8. Vanderbilt

7. Missouri

6. Ole Miss

5. Florida

4. Georgia

3. South Carolina

2. Alabama

1. Oklahoma

And here’s where how they should be ranked.

12. Chattanooga

You could make the case that Vanderbilt should occupy this spot. I seriously considered putting them here. Chattanooga has an underrated defensive line, but their offense is not that solid. I think Vandy would win if the two were to play, but only by a slim margin. 

11. Vanderbilt

This is about the only time you’ll see Vanderbilt not dead last on a list — any list. I seriously overestimated the Commodores. They’re as bad as it gets in the SEC. (They got blown out by Temple?!?!)

10. Arkansas State

Arkansas State and Utah State are somewhat interchangeable on this list. I know Arkansas State actually beat Utah State head-to-head, but I still think the Aggies are the better team. 

9. Utah State

The Aggies aren’t quite as good as I thought they would be, but they do have wins against Wake Forest and #18 (at the time) BYU. 

8. South Carolina

I was a step away from being the conductor of the South Carolina hype train. I fully bought in. The Gamecocks told us pretty quick to jump off the train, losing badly to Texas A&M in the opener. They also have losses to Missouri and Kentucky. 

7. Missouri

I was down on Missouri, before believing and now I’m back to not believing. Missouri lost to Indiana, beat South Carolina and got blown out by Georgia (who was playing without their best player). 

6. Kentucky

Kentucky is easily the surprise of the SEC this year. They upset South Carolina and they’re one win away from being bowl eligible. Their schedule gets a little tougher, however, as they take on LSU at Death Valley this Saturday night. 

5. Florida

If Florida didn’t have to rely on quarterback Jeff Driskel, they’d probably be a much better team. The Gators should’ve beat LSU last Saturday, but they couldn’t overcome drops in the endzone and errant Driskel throws. The defense is athletic and talented, but the offense is anemic at best. 

4. Georgia

Georgia is playing pretty well right now and if not for a loss to South Carolina, they’d be in the college football playoff conversation. They’re definitely the front runners for the SEC East crown. 

3. Alabama

Alabama isn’t playing their best football ever right now, but they’re still one of the top teams in the SEC. They suffered a close loss to Ole Miss, before barely winning against Arkansas. I imagine you’ll see them unleash some anger on Texas A&M this Saturday. 

2. Oklahoma

I also bought into the Oklahoma hype this summer. The Sooners aren’t quite living up to expectations, even though they handily beat the Vols. Oklahoma nearly lost to West Virginia, before they finally did lose to TCU. They’re still good though. 

1. Ole Miss

The best team that Tennessee will play this year is the one they’ll face this Saturday. Ole Miss has already knocked off Alabama and Texas A&M and now they’ll use their stingy defense to punish the Volunteers. The Rebels will go as far as Tennessee native Bo Wallace will take them.