National media outlet predicts Tennessee Vols' final record in 2023
There weren't many people who thought the Tennessee Vols would win 11 games in 2022. Outside of Josh Heupel and his staff, Tennessee's players, and a few wildly optimistic Vols fans, most folks expected UT to win around nine games a year ago. So what kind of predictions should be made for Tennessee in 2023? […]
There weren't many people who thought the Tennessee Vols would win 11 games in 2022.
Outside of Josh Heupel and his staff, Tennessee's players, and a few wildly optimistic Vols fans, most folks expected UT to win around nine games a year ago.
So what kind of predictions should be made for Tennessee in 2023? What should fans expect with key players like Hendon Hooker, Cedric Tillman, and Jalin Hyatt moving on to the NFL?
It's still a bit early for predictions — the season doesn't start for nearly five months — but that didn't stop 247Sports from putting out some spring predictions this week. And those predictions have the Vols going 9-3 in Josh Heupel's third season. 9-3 with a chance at 10 wins with a victory in a bowl game seems fair with the uncertainty surrounding Joe Milton as the program's starting quarterback.
The only problem here is that 247Sports has Tennessee losing to Missouri in 2023, a team the Vols have consistently dominated since Heupel arrived in Knoxville in early 2021 (they have UT's other two losses as Alabama and Georgia).
From 247Sports: Josh Heupel has this program rolling and it's a matter of time before Tennessee gets to the playoff under his guidance. It's not going to happen in 2023, though. The Vols will be 6-0 and ranked inside the top 10 going to Alabama before being humbled with a 3-3 record during the second half of the campaign. A potential unexplainable loss could come at Missouri in November, which comes right before the all-important home game with Georgia. That has trap written all over it for the Vols. Remember the faceplant at South Carolina in 2022? This would feel similar.
On paper, 10-2 is reasonable for the Vols during the 2023 regular season. The only games that Tennessee should lose are on the road against Alabama and at home against Georgia (though the Vols are still capable of winning those matchups). A road game against Florida could be tough, but that's still a matchup that Tennessee should win.
Picking the Vols to lose to Missouri is bizarre. But then again, no one predicted Tennessee to lose on the road to South Carolina last season (including Gamecocks fans), so I can at least understand the logic behind that pick. But I still have a hard time imagining Missouri beating the Vols in 2023.
If this prediction turns out to be true and the Vols go 10-3 (with a bowl win), it would still be a solid season for Heupel and Tennessee. And it would show that UT has plenty of momentum moving forward as they hand the offense over to former five-star quarterback Nico Iamaleava in 2024.
