The Strange Vibe Around Tennessee Football This Season

Vol fans can't wait for Rick Barnes and Tony Vitello's teams to return, but that doesn't seem to be the case for Josh Heupel's team.

Tennessee men’s basketball might have the best freshman in all of college basketball this season. Volunteers men’s head basketball coach Rick Barnes certainly thinks so. Tennessee baseball landed the highest-ranked transfer in all of college baseball this offseason. Vols baseball skipper Tony Vitello has assembled a 2026 roster that should be one of, if not the best, in the sport this upcoming season. You do not have to squint too hard to see a special season in store for the Vols in men’s hoops or baseball this season. To see a special season in store for Tennessee football, though, you have to squint like George Costanza, only like him, you’re liable to mistake mailboxes for raccoons.

A whole lot of Vol fans feel similarly, I suspect, exactly three weeks away from the Vols kicking off their 2025 season in Atlanta at Mercedes-Benz Stadium against Syracuse. If Nico Iamaleava were still under center heading into Year 3 on Rocky Top, perhaps things would feel a bit differently – they certainly would feel different nationally. However, Tennessee’s relatively easy schedule only complicates things more. A 9-3 season for Tennessee is not equal to a 9-3 season for Florida, for instance. Before Iamaleava departed for UCLA, the Vols were tied atop the SEC in projected win total at 9.5 wins, along with Georgia, Alabama, and Texas. After Iamaleava departed for UCLA, however, the Vols only dropped a single game in win projection betting odds models. Tennessee is still in a great spot to win eight or nine games this season, with or without Iamaleava.

It’s a testament to how great of a job Heupel has done in Knoxville the last four seasons that winning eight or nine games this season and just missing back-to-back College Football Playoff appearances would be a disappointing season. Context matters, of course, and if the Vols were to go 9-3, but the offense, specifically the chunk plays in the passing game, returns with a fervor, then the vibe amongst the fanbase will be very different this season — even if the record is a bit disappointing. If the Vols have to live in 12-personnel offensively all season, trudge their way to eight wins, then the vibe among the fanbase will be very different. There are still so many ways this season could go for the Vols — that much is certain. I am certain, though, at the extreme level of uncertainty around this Volunteer offense three weeks out from their date with the Orangemen.

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