According to ESPN, Tennessee faces toughest three-game stretch in the SEC next season
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Jeremy Pruitt’s challenge of rebuilding Tennessee football in 2018 will be difficult — in more ways than one.
To further illustrate that point, you need not look any further than the three-game stretch the Volunteers face between Oct. 13 and Oct. 27. During that stretch, Tennessee will face the defending SEC West champions on the road, the defending National Champions and finish with a trip to Columbia to take on a program that’s not only beaten the Vols two years in a row but rising to become the East’s biggest threat to Georgia.
How tough is that three-game stretch? According to ESPN college football writer Chris Low, it’s the toughest three-game stretch any SEC team will face in 2018. Low ranks it as the third most difficult three-game stretch in the nation, too.
The funny thing, at least to fans outside of Rocky Top, is that Georgia precedes the Auburn game. That game is not listed, however, as the Vols have a bye week before facing the Tigers. Low decided against involving any bye weeks into his equation for making this list of toughest three-game stretches heading into 2018.
Here are the three games that look to challenge the grit of Pruitt’s first squad more than any others:
Oct. 13 at Auburn, Oct. 20 vs. Alabama, Oct. 27 at South Carolina
And here are the comments Low provided for his selection:
The month of October has been a house of horrors for the Vols. They’re just 4-24 against SEC opponents in October over the past eight seasons, and it doesn’t look real promising this season, either. In successive weeks, Tennessee travels to No. 19 Auburn, faces No. 1 Alabama at home and then goes back on the road to face No. 25 South Carolina. The Vols have lost 11 straight to Alabama and six straight to Auburn, two teams that could figure prominently in the national championship conversation in 2018. What’s more, this should be Will Muschamp’s best team at South Carolina.
On the bright side, at least Tennessee gets Alabama at home during that run.
A graduate of the University of Tennessee, Michael Wayne Bratton oversees the news coverage for Saturday Down South. Michael previously worked for FOX Sports and NFL.com
