With July here and the 2026 college football season creeping closer, Tennessee is already drawing plenty of national attention - and CBS Sports just handed the Vols a prediction that would leave fans with mixed feelings.
Brad Crawford’s latest SEC game-by-game projections peg Tennessee at 8-4 overall and 5-4 in the league’s new nine-game format. That line comes with some eye-catching wins, too: Crawford has the Vols knocking off Alabama, LSU, Kentucky and Vanderbilt, while also taking care of Furman, Georgia Tech, Kennesaw State and Arkansas.
The biggest surprise in the forecast might be that LSU result, especially with Lane Kiffin’s return to Neyland Stadium landing in the penultimate week of the season. According to Crawford, Tennessee gets the job done there as well.
But the losses are where the prediction gets tense. Crawford has Tennessee dropping its SEC opener against Texas, then falling at home the next week to Auburn and head coach Alex Golesh. He also sees road losses at South Carolina and at Texas A&M.
“Losses to Texas and Texas A&M wouldn’t be surprising given the talent level of both opponents, but the swing games against Auburn and South Carolina are what ultimately could keep the Volunteers from reaching double-digit wins - the necessary threshold we see in guaranteeing a CFP appearance,” Crawford writes. “Those are the kinds of matchups that often define a season in the SEC.”
That’s the real shape of this projection: Tennessee doing enough to look dangerous, but not quite enough to belong with the SEC’s top tier. Crawford put it plainly.
“Heupel’s offense should remain explosive enough to win eight games and secure another respectable bowl destination, but the Volunteers appear a step below the league’s elite,” he writes. “That’s the difference between playoff contention and a solid, yet unspectacular, season.”
There’s plenty for Tennessee to sort through before then. The Vols went 8-5 in 2025, finished with the SEC’s second-best statistical offense, and still stumbled late, losing three of their final five games, including the Music City Bowl. Defensively, they were even shakier, ranking third-worst in the conference.
That’s part of why Tennessee attacked the offseason the way it did. The program brought in Jim Knowles from Penn State to run the defense, along with multiple defensive coaches and several Penn State transfers who followed them to Rocky Top. Tennessee also added strength coach Derek Owings, who most recently helped build Indiana’s national championship-winning roster.
The offense, meanwhile, is staring at its biggest question mark. Joey Aguilar is gone, which likely leaves the job to either redshirt-freshman George MacIntyre or true freshman Faizon Brandon.
Both were blue-chip recruits, but either way, Tennessee is headed into the season with a freshman quarterback. Even so, the supporting cast is still strong, with a talented receiver group, a returning thousand-yard rusher and an experienced offensive line.
One game that could matter more than it’s getting credit for is Georgia Tech. It’s Tennessee’s first road game, and it could be the first real test for whoever wins the quarterback job.
Furman will offer a soft landing to start the year, but a night game at Bobby Dodd Stadium is a different animal. Tennessee should still be favored, and it’s a winnable matchup.
It just may be the one that gets lost in the noise surrounding the SEC schedule.
In Other News...
Tennessee Just Made Another Move In Its Defensive Reset
Tennessees defensive makeover picked up another layer this week with the addition of Josh Sinagoga to the staff as a defensive analyst, a notable shift for a coach whose recent background has leaned to the offensive side. Sinagoga arrives after stops at Michigan, Youngstown State, Central Michigan, Iowa and Cincinnati, bringing a varied rsum into a reset that has already featured several new defensive hires this offseason.
The move fits the broader urgency around a defense that struggled badly in 2025, when the Volunteers were forced to rethink much of that side of the ball and move on from Tim Banks and some staff members. Tennessee has been aggressive in reshaping the room ever since, and Sinagogas arrival suggests the staff is still looking for every edge it can find while the full blueprint for the new defense continues to take shape. [Read more 🡒]
Tennessee Is In A Massive Recruiting Fight For A Rare 5-Star Back
David Gabriel Georges has become one of the most intriguing recruiting battles in the country, and Tennessee is right in the middle of it. The 5-star running back from Quebec, who has been playing high school football in Chattanooga, has drawn major attention from the Vols and Ohio State, two programs that have clearly treated his recruitment like a priority rather than a routine pursuit.
What makes this race stand out is how aggressively both staffs have pushed to separate themselves before Georges makes his choice by July 22. Tennessee has worked to sell itself hard, while Ohio State has poured resources into the chase with an in-person visit effort in Chattanooga, and the cross-country tug-of-war has only added to the intrigue around a prospect who is rare enough to feel like a program-changing swing. [Read more 🡒]
Tennessee Just Took A Painful Recruiting Hit Where It Hurts Most
Tennessees 2027 class has still given the staff some reasons to feel good, with Derrick Baker staying put and wide receiver Kesean Bowman already on board. The Vols also remain in the mix for David Gabriel Georges, who is weighing Tennessee against Ohio State, so the class is far from settled even after an active start.
But the latest swing in the trenches is the kind of miss that stings in Knoxville, especially with defensive line and edge-rushing help always at a premium. Tennessee has already had to keep grinding for answers up front, and with the high school board tightening, the staff may need to find help from elsewhere if it wants to build out that part of the class. [Read more 🡒]