Tennessee football will go 8-2, former Vol says

PITTSBURGH - DECEMBER 27: Offensive lineman Ramon Foster of the Pittsburgh Steelers looks on from the sideline during a game against the Baltimore Ravens at Heinz Field on December 27, 2009 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Steelers defeated the Ravens 23-20. (Photo by George Gojkovich/Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH - DECEMBER 27: Offensive lineman Ramon Foster of the Pittsburgh Steelers looks on from the sideline during a game against the Baltimore Ravens at Heinz Field on December 27, 2009 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Steelers defeated the Ravens 23-20. (Photo by George Gojkovich/Getty Images)

Former Tennessee football offensive lineman Ramon Foster is high on the Volunteers.

This year, with the addition of the Auburn Tigers and Texas A&M Aggies to make for a 10-game SEC-only schedule, Tennessee football has a rough path to a .500 record. However, scenarios for them have ranged from 3-7 to 6-4 or 7-3, and finishing with just a winning record appears to be the goal Jeremy Pruitt’s third season on the job.

However, one former Vol is shooting for the stars. Ramon Foster, who played offensive lineman for UT from 2005 to 2008, said on his 104.5 The Zone radio show in Nashville with Jason Martin called J-Mart and Ramon that Rocky Top will finish with an 8-2 record this year.

A longtime NFL player, Foster was a staple of the Pittsburgh Steelers offensive line for 10 years after leaving the Vols. He retired from the NFL after the 2019 season, and on Tuesday, he confirmed on Twitter that he did project eight wins for Tennessee football.

Obviously, getting to 8-2 would be extremely tough for UT. The Georgia Bulldogs and Alabama Crimson Tide are considered automatic losses no matter what, and the Florida Gators are extremely close to being viewed in the same way.

To finish with that record, they would have to win one of those games, which would be most likely Florida since that game is in Knoxville in December. Also, they would have to beat both Auburn on the road and Texas A&M at home, assuming they aren’t able to upset Alabama or Georgia.

All of that is hard enough, and they have to win both toss-up games as well against the South Carolina Gamecocks on the road and Kentucky Wildcats at home. This is all assuming they do both of those things and run the table against the three bad teams on their slate, the Missouri Tigers, Arkansas Razorbacks and Vanderbilt Commodores.

Simply put, getting to 8-2 will be extremely tough for Tennessee football. However, Foster, who has always been proud to be a Vol and is one of the most vocal supports of everything Phillip Fulmer does specifically, would naturally have faith in his alma mater.