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Tennessee football named the biggest sleeper in the SEC for the 2024 season

By Colton Pickard

Fireworks are set off before an SEC football game between Tennessee and Ole Miss in a checkered Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn. on Saturday, Oct. 16, 2021.
Fireworks are set off before an SEC football game between Tennessee and Ole Miss in a checkered Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn. on Saturday, Oct. 16, 2021. / Calvin Mattheis/News Sentinel / USA
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The Southeastern Conference expands to 16 teams on July 1, 2024, and with that comes two more powerhouse programs to compete for the SEC Championship. Tennessee football is coming off three straight winning seasons, but it will face a tough fight if it wants to win the conference in 2024. 

Since the SEC is eliminating divisions, the Vols won't have to worry about divisional foes like Florida, Georgia, or South Carolina, but they will still have to finish in the top two of the conference standings at the end of the season to earn a trip to Atlanta. 

That doesn't mean the Vols don't have a shot at doing the unthinkable. Tennessee is replacing a lot of talent on both sides of the ball, so they are flying under the radar of many college football analysts. One position the Vols are replacing is quarterback, but the redshirt freshman replacement comes with Heisman potential. 

Freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava has been handed the keys to the offense. CBS' Josh Pate believes he's a future star and makes the Vols a much better football team than many are giving the Vols credit for going into the summer. 

"Tennessee is a big-time sleeper team in the SEC, Pate said on . "They've got the sixth-best odds to win the conference. Nico Iamaleava is going to be a star. I love the moves they've made in the wide receiver room. Their talent is underrated. So is their defensive coaching staff. They get Florida and Alabama at home. They go to Georgia late in the year. If they play good ball early, they could be in a situation where they can afford to lose later in the year and still be right in the thick of the CFP race. I hate saying that, but that's where we are."

Tennessee joins Penn State, Louisville, and Arizona as some of the most underrated teams across power conferences. Pate says the Vols are the biggest sleeper team in the SEC, but that could change once the Big Orange take the field in the fall. 

The Vols are entering Year 4 under head coach Josh Heupel, who has put together three winning seasons in as many years in Knoxville. He's 27-12 as Tennessee's head coach and preparing to put his third quarterback on the field in four years with one of the highest ceilings in college football. 

While Tennessee is expected to finish at or around fifth in the SEC this year, it's not a far cry to say the Vols could win a couple of coin-flip games and find themselves competing for a spot in Atlanta by the time November rolls around.

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