Tennessee football: Outlet right to pick Vols second in East

Coming off a 7-6 campaign in its first year under Josh Heupel, Tennessee football enters 2022 with lots of cautious optimism. The talent front is what makes it cautious, as UT returns a lot of elite guys but also has to replace some significant production from a barely over .500 team.

However, the schedule is what really increased the optimism. That combination has Steve Lassan of Athlon Sports projecting the Vols to finish second in the SEC East this year behind only the defending national champion Georgia Bulldogs.

Lassan has the Vols just ahead of the Kentucky Wildcats, and he then has the South Carolina Gamecocks coming in fourth. To nobody’s surprise, he has the Alabama Crimson Tide winning the West. Here’s what he wrote about Tennessee football.

"Hooker and receiver Cedric Tillman top the list of reasons for optimism in Knoxville, with four starters back along an offensive line hoping to improve after allowing 44 sacks last year. Although scoring points shouldn’t be a problem for Tennessee, the defense has to make major progress to push for nine wins. This unit allowed more than 200 rushing yards and 33.6 points a game in SEC play last season. Linemen Byron Young and Tyler Baron, along with linebacker Jeremy Banks, provide a solid foundation up front for coordinator Tim Banks."

Although he’s focusing on the talent perspective of the Vols, this isn’t why he has them so high in the East. It’s somewhat by default, a combination of luck in scheduling and the fact that the division may be a bit down this year.

You know the East is down when Kentucky is in legitimate contention to finish second. If the Vols aren’t projected by an outlet to finish second, Kentucky will be. However, UT historically owns Kentucky, they beat them on the road last year, and they have them at home this year.

There is reason to believe the South Carolina Gamecocks will take a step forward in Shane Beamer’s second year, but they lost 45-20 to the Vols last year and have lost three straight to them in general. Even with this year’s game at South Carolina, you have to make UT the favorite.

The real standout here is the Florida Gators, whom Lassan has picked fourth. Sure, they own Tennessee football, but they have to travel to Rocky Top this year with a new head coach in Billy Napier on the heels of a 6-7 season. By every stretch, the Vols have the advantage.

No expectations are to be found for the Vanderbilt Commodores, and after what they did to the Missouri Tigers last year, nobody would pick Mizzou over Heupel in Knoxville. As a result, the Vols have an advantage with everybody but Georgia.

Now, you can bring up the fact that they still draw Alabama from the other side. At the same time, their other SEC West draw this year is a trip to the LSU Tigers. That program is likely a rising dynasty under Brian Kelly, but this is his first year, so there will be some growing pains.

Simply put, this puts 5-3 as the likely record and 6-2 on the table for Tennessee football, assuming Alabama and Georgia are both losses. Taking that into account, yes, they should be picked second in the East, and Athlon is just ahead of the curve.