They have question marks.
Paul Finebaum Names College Football Playoff Team That's Not Elite originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
The 2024 college football season saw six new teams make their mark in the College Football Playoff: the Boise State Broncos, SMU Mustangs, Arizona State Sun Devils, Indiana Hoosiers, Penn State Nittany Lions and Tennessee Volunteers, all of whom made the playoffs for the first time in program history.
Now, each team is hoping to return to postseason play. However, the Volunteers will have to do so without their starting quarterback, Nico Iamaleava. The talented redshirt sophomore unexpectedly announced his decision to transfer just before the spring game. He ultimately chose to transfer to UCLA, and the Volunteers will be replacing him with former Bruins commit and Appalachian State Mountaineers quarterback Joey Aguilar.
On "The Paul Finebaum Show," the SEC Network analyst shared his candid opinions about Tennessee as the team heads into this season.
"I don't think Tennessee is elite, but I believe their schedule is manageable," Finebaum said. "They're going to have to beat somebody. What I mean by that is either Georgia or Florida, and I think Georgia is going to be the more likely to win early rather than vs. Florida late. I think 9-3 is doable."
Finebaum has remained skeptical about Tennessee this offseason. He has previously noted that the absence of Iamaleava complicates the assessment of the team's prospects until Aguilar's performance becomes clearer. Finebaum expressed confidence in Aguilar's abilities, but he mentioned he isn't particularly optimistic about Tennessee this season.
Aguilar has impressive stats, having thrown for 6,760 yards, 56 touchdowns and 24 interceptions while completing 60.1% of his passes. He has also rushed for 452 yards and five touchdowns over his two seasons with the Mountaineers.
According to Athlon Sports' Kyle Wood, Tennessee's schedule is ranked as the third easiest in the conference. Wood highlighted that September will be a critical month for the Volunteers, who will open the season with a neutral-site game against the Syracuse Orange in Atlanta, followed by a home game against the Georgia Bulldogs two weeks later. After these matchups, Tennessee’s toughest challenges will be spaced out throughout the season.
The Volunteers will begin their season on Aug. 30 against Syracuse at noon ET.
Related: Paul Finebaum Names College Football Playoff Team He's 'Not Crazy About'
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 5, 2025, where it first appeared.
Category: General Sports
