Greg McElroy's offseason comments about Tennessee come back to haunt him in a big way

Former Alabama quarterback/ESPN analyst Greg McElroy made some comments during the offseason about the Tennessee Vols that he now likely regrets after UT's 24-17 win against the Crimson Tide on Saturday night.  In late January, McElroy gave Tennessee a 15 percent chance of making the 12-team College Football Playoff while predicting that the Vols would […]

Zach Ragan — Tennessee Volunteers News Writer
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Former Alabama quarterback/ESPN analyst Greg McElroy made some comments during the offseason about the Tennessee Vols that he now likely regrets after UT's 24-17 win against the Crimson Tide on Saturday night. 

In late January, McElroy gave Tennessee a 15 percent chance of making the 12-team College Football Playoff while predicting that the Vols would "most likely" finish 8-4. 

"I think right now 8-4 is most likely," said McElroy while discussing Tennessee in 2024. "I think 9-3 is well within reach. But at 8-4, I think the percentage chance that they make the 12-team playoff is about 15 percent."

Here's the playoff percentages that McElroy laid out for other SEC programs in January. 

Georgia — 90 percent
Texas — 70 percent
Alabama — 70 percent
Ole Miss — 60 percent
LSU — 55 percent
Missouri — 50 percent
Oklahoma — 10 percent 

McElroy also said that he didn't think Tennessee could beat Alabama or Georgia in 2024. 

"Can they beat Alabama or Georgia? I don't think they can," said McElroy. 

McElroy's a smart guy. He obviously knows the game of football well. And he usually provides solid analysis. 

But his prediction for Tennessee in 2024 was clearly terrible. And it's a reminder that preseason predictions are completely useless. It's fun to predict what you think will happen, but it's really of absolutely no value to anyone — regardless of whether it comes from a fan, a big network analyst, a former player, a former coach, an algorithm, model, etc. No one knows how the season will play out. 

McElroy, by the way, had a front row seat on Saturday for Tennessee's win against Alabama — a game that he didn't think the Vols could win — as he called the game for ESPN along with Sean McDonough. 

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