I would say LSU and Clemson are the only two teams that return more talent+experience than Tennessee. Money year for Butch and the Vols (especially considering the state of the SEC east)

I wish ESPN gave a little more background on what their parameters are, you know, since there hasn't been a single game played. By the looks of it, they are going off of last season's FPI and number of returning starters. Probably also considering past years recruiting. You all need to realize that this isn't a ranking. This is a statistical algorithm with probably a thousand parameters that some nerds have fine tuned by using past seasons' outcomes. I guess you could make the argument that they're biased in how they weight the parameters, but I don't see why they would want to do that; they want it to be, on average, the best predictor of games. I'd love to try to make one myself, actually...

Just paid $1500 for one semester of college education... and that's not including tuition. Let's keep this in perspective: they get paid. The only question is how much they should get paid, not whether they should get paid.

K-State was 6-6. I agree with your conclusion (see Toledo, Memphis, Houston, Citadel, W. Ky, almost FAU, almost Jacksonville St., almost Ga. Southern) We shouldn't ever say that the SEC was favored to win 8 and won 8, therefore they only did what was expected. It would be much worse if they were only favored in, say, 2 games and then won 8. They're favored cause they're better. Most analysts thought Tenn, Bama, and Ole Miss games would be close. They were beatdowns in every aspect of the game.

NW?

14 of those 21 points came from a goal line fumble by Hurd and a punt return that should've been called back for block in the back. Tennessee was clearly the better team

totally agree on the rankings. Georgia was frustrating to watch. They played like a big-10 team. Needed to get the ball to the skill guys in space. Auburn made the top QB prospect look like a middle of the pack SEC QB. I think the country can now put to bed the thought that there are no QBs in the SEC, after putting them in the context of the defenses they play against. I think if we were to look at it from a player-only perspective, considering only the differences in size, speed, skill, etc., that the Ole Miss - Okla St. game was the biggest mismatch. Those boys could've won without coaches or preparation. Arkansas' final drive was overly erotic, and that is why the O-line was featured on the media guide cover. Collins could play in the NFL tomorrow. These two are the reason why they were able to close the game out against my Vols.