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Tennessee football: Vols picked to finish third in SEC East

By Caleb Calhoun

KNOXVILLE, TN - OCTOBER 06: A general view of the Tennessee Volunteers taking the field before the start of their game against the Georgia Bulldogs at Neyland Stadium on October 6, 2007 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - OCTOBER 06: A general view of the Tennessee Volunteers taking the field before the start of their game against the Georgia Bulldogs at Neyland Stadium on October 6, 2007 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /
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The media picks are in for Tennessee football. The Volunteers are projected to finish third in the Southeastern Conference Eastern division.

Two years ago, people picked them to finish second in the SEC East. A year ago, they were the favorites. But with six NFL Draft picks gone, Tennessee football has fallen back into the pack in the Vols’ division.

At least that what the analysts say.

A day after SEC Media Days came to an end, Tennessee was picked to finish third in the East. Analysts picked the Florida Gators and Georgia Bulldogs to finish first and second respectively, and the Vols got only three first place votes.

Adding insult to injury, eight teams received points when it came to SEC championship predictions, with the Alabama Crimson Tide as the clear favorites.

However, Tennessee football was not among them.

The Auburn Tigers, LSU Tigers, South Carolina Gamecocks, Vanderbilt Commodores, and Arkansas Razorbacks all received points in that standing in addition to Alabama, Florida and Georgia.

Leaving Tennessee and Texas A&M out was curious altogether.

But it shows how little respect the Vols are receiving this year. After finishing the 2016 9-4 with bad losses to South Carolina and Vanderbilt, analysts have little faith in this team’s ability to replace Joshua Dobbs at quarterback or other key players who left for the NFL.

Still, perhaps this is what Butch Jones and the Vols want. Remember 1998? They had to replace a lot of talent then as well.

Oh, and there was also 2004. Both times, Tennessee football was replacing a quarterback and key weapons.

And both times, they ended up winning the SEC East. Of course, they won the national championship in 1998.

So flying under the radar is not always a bad thing for this team. And nothing matters until the games begin anyway.

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