Tennessee football doesn't have national championship expectations, but for the first time in two decades, data supports a potential national championship run for the Vols.
While the Vols have a lot to figure out, including who their starting quarterback will be, they have enough elite players to win a national title.
This is based on the blue-chip ratio, which calculates the number of four-star and five-star players, also known as blue-chip players, on a roster. Once the team has a certain percentage of blue-chip players on the roster, they could realistically win a national championship, although it's rarely guaranteed.
Josh Heupel and the Tennessee coaching staff have done a great job bringing in blue-chip athletes, eventually opening this door for the Vols.
We haven't seen a national champion not meet this blue-chip ratio benchmark since Auburn beat Oregon in the 2011 BCS National Championship.
Auburn had a blue-chip ratio under 50%, meaning the Tigers had more three-star and two-star players than four-star and five-star players.
Since 2011, most national champions have exceeded this benchmark and even achieved a blue-chip ratio of 60% or higher. Florida State in 2013, Clemson in 2016, and Michigan in 2024 were the only national champions during this period with a blue-chip ratio of at least 50% but less than 60%.
CBS Sports has released the teams that could realistically win the national championship based on their blue-chip ratio, and Tennessee joins 17 other teams that meet the benchmark.
Tennessee is tied for 17th with a 54% blue-chip ratio with Florida State. Fellow SEC programs Auburn (64%), Florida (64%), Oklahoma (70%), LSU (73%), Texas (78%), Texas A&M (82%), Georgia (84%), and Alabama (89%) have higher blue-chip ratio than the Vols.
While it's not guaranteed that Tennessee will win the national championship because they meet the minimum 50% blue-chip ratio, it does almost guarantee that one of the 18 teams listed will win the national championship this year.
Heupel and the Vols have continued to assemble a strong recruiting class year after year. Last year's College Football Playoff appearance was the first indication that their recruiting efforts were paying off, and this is yet another sign that Tennessee may be building a championship roster over the next few seasons.