The one thing about Tennessee Vols' 2024 SEC schedule that makes zero sense

The Tennessee Vols learned on Wednesday evening which eight SEC opponents they'll be playing in 2024.  The schedule reveal on Wednesday from the SEC ends months-long speculation about who will be playing who in 2024 when Oklahoma and Texas officially join the conference.  Earlier this offseason, the SEC agreed to a temporary eight-game schedule in […]

Zach Ragan — Tennessee Volunteers News Writer
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The Tennessee Vols learned on Wednesday evening which eight SEC opponents they'll be playing in 2024. 

The schedule reveal on Wednesday from the SEC ends months-long speculation about who will be playing who in 2024 when Oklahoma and Texas officially join the conference. 

Earlier this offseason, the SEC agreed to a temporary eight-game schedule in 2024 with no divisions.

The SEC didn't do the Vols any favors with the 2024 schedule (which will be the first year of the new expanded playoff). 

Tennessee plays Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, and Mississippi State at home. They'll face Arkansas, Georgia, Oklahoma and Vanderbilt on the road. 

Playing the three-head monster of Alabama/Florida/Georgia in the first year that the SEC doesn't have divisions eliminates the one advantage (the possibility of not playing both Alabama and Georgia in the same season) the Vols were supposed to have with the new schedule format. But instead, the Vols will once again face the two toughest teams in the SEC in Alabama and Georgia. 

That's not the only questionable thing about Tennessee's schedule in 2024. In fact, it's not even the most confusing aspect of the Vols' 2024 schedule. That has to do with the Oklahoma game. 

Tennessee was originally supposed to host the Sooners in 2024. But when news broke that Oklahoma and Texas were joining the SEC, the Vols were forced to cancel their non-conference matchup with the Sooners (Tennessee is set to play NC State in Charlotte in 2024 instead). 

Thanks to the SEC, the Vols went from hosting Oklahoma in 2024 to playing the Sooners on the road. 

So not only do the Vols still have to play Alabama and Georgia, but they also have to travel to Norman to play one of the premier programs in the nation on the road. I can understand the Vols playing Oklahoma in 2024 — the SEC wants Texas and Oklahoma to play every other SEC program during their first two years in the conference. But the least the SEC could've done was allow the Vols to play Oklahoma at home as originally planned. 

All the SEC had to do was flip the Oklahoma and Mississippi State games. Tennessee could've traveled to Starkville and then hosted the Sooners. 

But unfortunately for the Vols, the SEC didn't make the right choice here. And Tennessee's path to the College Football Playoff in 2024 will be a bit tougher because of that wrong choice. 

Featured image via USA TODAY Sports

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