Tennessee didn’t have much to be happy about after its Week 1, 40-14 loss to West Virginia in Charlotte, NC. They followed up that loss however with good win against ETSU.

It was “good” in the sense that it was a complete effort by the Volunteers. Tennessee rushed for five total touchdowns, threw for another, registered a pick-six and also scored a touchdown on a blocked punt.

It still remains to be seen how good this Tennessee team can be, the Vols don’t start conference play until Week 4, but let’s see how FPI predicts Tennessee’s season will finish in 2018.

  • vs. UTEP: 98.4 percent
  • vs. Florida: 35.2 percent
  • at No. 3 Georgia: 4.3 percent
  • at No. 7 Auburn: 9.7 percent
  • vs. No. 1 Alabama: 5.2 percent
  • at South Carolina 19.7 percent
  • vs. Charlotte: 95.4 percent
  • vs. Kentucky: 48.1 percent
  • vs. Missouri: 31 percent
  • at Vanderbilt: 37.1 percent

A couple things to note here, other than this week’s matchup against UTEP, FPI right now has Tennessee winning just one other game this season. It would be a tough pill to swallow if Tennessee goes two-straight years without winning an SEC game.

Tennessee also has a death stretch in the middle of its season, playing No. 3 Georgia, No. 7 Auburn after a week off and then No. 1 Alabama.  That makes Tennessee’s first SEC game against Florida at home a must-win. You don’t want a demoralized team heading into a tough three-game stretch after a conference loss at home.

If Tennessee can gain some momentum towards the middle of the season with a good loss to Alabama or a win against South Carolina, the Vols should be able to pick up at least another couple of SEC wins that will have fans excited for the future after the worst year in program history.