With Tennessee playing in the SEC, there are practically no gimmes any week. Maybe there’s one or two weaker programs, but top to bottom, it’s the strongest conference year in and year out in college football. What comes with that is a grueling schedule that’s a gauntlet. Now with the SEC moving to nine games, the schedule gets even harder, as you have to play an extra big game and remove a non-conference foe, which typically was an FCS opponent. In a make-or-break season for Josh Heupel, the Vols have a tough nine-game SEC schedule while also playing on the road against Georgia Tech in the non-conference. It's a tough 12-game stretch.
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That said, Tennessee closes out the season with one of the hardest stretches in the nation. The Vols will play on the road against Texas A&M on November 14, then host Lane Kiffin and LSU in what will be a heated rivalry game. After that, Tennessee has to go on the road against Vanderbilt in another hostile rivalry matchup. It’s a brutally tough stretch filled with emotional, big games.
CBS says Tennessee's 3 game stretch isn't a top-15 toughest stretch
In light of this, CBS Sports ranked the toughest stretches in college football, but Tennessee’s final stretch didn’t make the list, which is surprising. Instead, their team was some interesting teams ahead of Tennessee. For example, Arizona made the list at No. 13 with a three-game stretch of Texas Tech, TCU, and Utah. Sure, those are three solid teams, but it’s not what Tennessee had with A&M, LSU, and Vandy. Not to mention, with Texas Tech losing its quarterback, Brendan Sorsby, that game isn’t nearly as hard as CBS is making it out to be. I don't get how they think that's harder.
Plus, there was another head-scratcher. At No. 15, North Carolina’s three-game stretch of Clemson, Notre Dame, and Pittsburgh made the list, but Tennessee’s didn’t. That doesn’t make much sense to me. Clemson is still a good program, but they’re not the same team that dominated with Trevor Lawrence. Notre Dame is very good and should be a playoff contender this season. But Pittsburgh? Are we serious? Pat Narduzzi is a solid coach, but Pittsburgh isn’t exactly a team that strikes fear into opponents. Mason Heintschel had a nice freshman season and looks like a future NFL player, but Vegas has Pittsburgh’s win total set at 7.5. Vanderbilt’s is only 5.5, but a road rivalry game is much different than playing Pittsburgh at North Carolina.
I guess you can't make the whole list of SEC and Big Ten teams, but come on.
Either way, it doesn’t really matter what CBS thinks about it, but it is puzzling that Tennessee didn’t make the list with such a brutal finish to the season. Hopefully, the stretch ends up being easier than we think it is, because that would likely result in a few extra wins, and nobody would complain about that.
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