National analyst doesn't have Tennessee Vols as the main threat to Georgia in SEC East
The Tennessee Volsshould be the second-best team in the SEC East in 2022. Tennessee has one of the best offenses in the nation (No. 7 scoring offense in the country last season), one of the best quarterbacks in the SEC in Hendon Hooker, and the program is entering its second season under head coach Josh […]
The Tennessee Volsshould be the second-best team in the SEC East in 2022.
Tennessee has one of the best offenses in the nation (No. 7 scoring offense in the country last season), one of the best quarterbacks in the SEC in Hendon Hooker, and the program is entering its second season under head coach Josh Heupel.
It stands to reason that the Vols should take a massive leap forward this season. While they likely won't challenge Georgia for the SEC East division title (the talent gap is still too wide), Tennessee should at least be the favorites to finish second to the Bulldogs in the division.
Not everyone, however, agrees.
Rivals.com national columnist Mike Farrell doesn't think Tennessee is the program that Georgia should be most concerned about. Instead, he thinks that program is Kentucky.
"We all know Georgia will win the SEC East but who is the sleeper that could challenge? It’s not the Gators. It’s Kentucky," wrote Farrell this week.
Farrell's logic was a bit flawed. He cited Wildcats quarterback Will Levis as one of the main reasons that Kentucky could challenge the Bulldogs in the SEC East.
But then in the same column, Farrell ranks Tennessee's Hendon Hooker as the best quarterback in the SEC East.
Kentucky is a good team. But the Vols have the better offense, the better quarterback, and the better head-to-head record against Mark Stoops and the Wildcats.
All the signs point to Tennessee being the program that has the best shot at unseating Georgia.
Farrell, for whatever reason, refuses to give Heupel and the Vols the proper respect (the fact he only mentioned Kentucky and Florida as options to challenge Tennessee is laughable).
I'm sure Heupel doesn't mind, though. All that really matters are the results on Saturdays this fall. That's when Tennessee can prove Farrell wrong.
And I think that's exactly what they'll do.
Featured image via Caitie McMekin/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK
