Paul Finebaum's comments on Tennessee football have Vols fans concerned about the 2025 college football season
SEC Network host Paul Finebaum made some comments on The Paul Finebaum Show last week that have some Tennessee Vols fans concerned about the 2025 season. Tennessee is coming off a 10-3 season that saw the program earn wins against Alabama and Florida while reaching the 12-team College Football Playoff. The Vols' season ended on […]
SEC Network host Paul Finebaum made some comments on The Paul Finebaum Show last week that have some Tennessee Vols fans concerned about the 2025 season.
Tennessee is coming off a 10-3 season that saw the program earn wins against Alabama and Florida while reaching the 12-team College Football Playoff.
The Vols' season ended on a sour note thanks to a loss to the Ohio State Buckeyes in Columbus in the first round of the playoff, but it was still an incredibly successful season for Tennessee.
Despite the obvious upward trajectory of the UT football program under head coach Josh Heupel, Finebaum says "experts" are expecting the Volunteers to go through a "transitional year" in 2025.
"Most of the experts think Tennessee will go through somewhat of a transitional year, having lost so many key players," explained Finebaum. "They still have Nico (Iamaleava). The schedule, I don't think playing Syracuse — that game is in Atlanta — I mean, Syracuse is a much-improved program, but I don't see a lot on there.
"I think they can manage Syracuse. That Georgia game that is early. I think the games that would worry me are Georgia, at Alabama, and at Florida. Other than that, I think Tennessee can handle that schedule pretty well."
Tennessee's goal in 2025 is going to be to reach the College Football Playoff again, regardless of how many players they're losing from their 2024 roster.
And sure, there are plenty of questions that Tennessee will have to answer in 2025, such as: Who starts at center? Can the young wide receivers step up? Will quarterback Nico Iamaleava take a step forward in his development? And how will the secondary perform without Jermod McCoy (torn ACL with a return date TBD)?
But every program has some questions that have to be answered — especially in this era where almost every team is dealing with significant roster change due to the NCAA transfer portal.
No one at Tennessee, though, is viewing the 2025 season as a "transitional year".
Nope. The Volunteers' players and coaches will enter the 2025 season with a mindset that's focused on bringing a championship back to Rocky Top.
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