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Tennessee football: Ranking all 12 games by difficulty on Vols’ 2022 schedule

By Caleb Calhoun

Smokey and the Volunteer celebrate a touchdown during a NCAA football game against Tennessee Tech at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn. on Saturday, Sept. 18, 2021.Kns Tennessee Tenn Tech Football
Smokey and the Volunteer celebrate a touchdown during a NCAA football game against Tennessee Tech at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn. on Saturday, Sept. 18, 2021.Kns Tennessee Tenn Tech Football /
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Nov 21, 2020; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Vanderbilt Commodores Mr. Commodore gestures before the game against the Florida Gators at Vanderbilt Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 21, 2020; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Vanderbilt Commodores Mr. Commodore gestures before the game against the Florida Gators at Vanderbilt Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports /

9. At Vanderbilt Commodores

Saturday, Nov. 26; Vanderbilt Stadium; Nashville, Tenn.

If Tennessee football were playing a decent Group of Five school, the Vanderbilt Commodores may not be even this high. This is a school that lost to the East Tennessee State Buccaneers last year, so you could make a case that it doesn’t belong above the UT-Martin Skyhawks. The program is just not in that great of shape.

However, they do enter their second year under Clark Lea, so they should be significantly better in many areas. Lea did inherit a mess. Meanwhile, for whatever this is worth given the fact that it’s still like a home game for them, the Vols do have to play Vandy in Nashville this year, so it’s not the same home-field advantage it has been.

Those two things combined with, as we mentioned, the mediocre level of the Group of Five schools on their slate are enough for even Vandy to only be behind Power Five opponents on Rocky Top’s slate this year. That doesn’t speak much to them, though.

Once again, Vanderbilt is likely to be the worst team in the SEC after going 2-10 last year, and UT finally seems to have re-established dominance in the series after winning each of the past three pretty convincingly. It would be shocking if they didn’t do that again.

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