The advantage that Tennessee gained in the offseason won’t be an advantage when the Vols open the season against Syracuse
A big advantage the Tennessee Vols gained this offseason amid the transfer drama involving quarterback Nico Iamaleava is that UT football is now flying under the radar heading into the 2025 season. No one in the national media is giving the Volunteers a legitimate chance to return to the College Football Playoff — which means […]
A big advantage the Tennessee Vols gained this offseason amid the transfer drama involving quarterback Nico Iamaleava is that UT football is now flying under the radar heading into the 2025 season.
No one in the national media is giving the Volunteers a legitimate chance to return to the College Football Playoff — which means there are no high expectations on Tennessee this fall.
The Vols seem to be at their best under Josh Heupel when no one believes in them — as evidenced by Tennessee’s memorable 2022 season that seemingly came out of nowhere.
“I think he (Heupel) likes to play with a chip on his shoulder, or coach with a chip on his shoulder,” said VolQuest’s Austin Price in May during an appearance on 104.5 The Zone. “I think that Josh Heupel sees this as a real challenge to kind of prove himself a little bit. And Tennessee, in general, is always better when they are the underdog in all sports….when Tennessee has been kind of thought of as middle of the road, like how they’ll be picked come July at SEC media days, I think they always kind of perform better.”
Unfortunately for the Vols, they won’t be able to play the “underdog” card when they open the season in Atlanta against Syracuse on August 30. The Orange have already claimed that role for themselves.
“There’s still more to improve, there’s still more to show,” said Syracuse wide receiver Tyshawn Russell this week. “You know, we’re underdogs going into the Tennessee game. So right now, a lot of people just got Tennessee beating us. So right now, for myself, I’ve just gotta keep working.”
Syracuse offensive line coach Dale Williams’ message to his team ahead of playing the Vols is to not get embarrassed on national television.
“You have to move on to Tennessee,” said Williams earlier this week. “You have to start watching film. That gets their attention — especially when the game is coming up here pretty fast. So you keep showing them different parts of Tennessee. And then that definitely keeps their attention because it’s a major opponent on national TV.
“And like I tell them, what you put on film is your résumé and you definitely don’t want to be embarrassed on national TV. You don’t want to be that guy that the other teams are looking at going, ‘God, this guy’s terrible.’”
Tennessee is the more talented team. On paper, this is a win for the Vols. Syracuse, however, is going into this game with an underdog mindset. And teams with that mindset can be dangerous.
The Vols may not be facing high expectations in 2025, but this is a game that everyone is expecting them to win. A loss to the Orange would instantly put Tennessee’s College Football Playoff hopes on life support.
Heupel’s squad will need to stay locked in and motivated — despite being the favorite — to avoid a sneaky Week One upset by Syracuse.
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