Tennessee Volunteers are still a pretender in the SEC East

Although the Tennessee Volunteers have dominated on the recruiting trails, oddsmakers still view the Vols as pretenders in the SEC East this season.

The Tennessee Volunteers still have plenty more ground to make up in the SEC East.

While it does seem that the Vols are trending in the right direction under head coach Jeremy Pruitt, they are still very much a middle-of-the-pack team in their own division. Tennessee has done a remarkable job on the recruiting trail this season, but is it something their three biggest SEC rivals should worry about?

The latest SEC Championship odds for 2020 are quite revealing. While Tennessee is in a better spot than many programs in the Power 5 conference, Rocky Top still has a way to go. Just how far back are the Vols from the Dawgs, Gators and Tide? Let’s find out now.

Here are the latest SEC title odds for 2020, via LVSuperBook.

Updated 2020 SEC title odds

Tennessee’s cross-divisional rival Alabama lets the SEC at 5/4 odds. SEC East nemesis Georgia has the second-best odds at 7/2. Divisional foe Florida comes in with the third-best odds at 4/1. Three other SEC West teams have better odds of winning the conference over Tennessee this year with Texas A&M at 10/1, LSU at 12/1 and Auburn at 14/1. The Vols come in seventh at 40/1.

What this tells us is only six teams have a realistic shot of winning the SEC and the Volunteers are not one of them. Frankly, we already knew this, as the SEC East will once again come down to who wins in Jacksonville between Florida and Georgia. The SEC West usually has three teams who can somehow convince themselves they belong in the same class as Alabama that season.

With six teams with 15/1 or better odds to win the SEC, you have to like the perceived upper class of the conference for this upcoming campaign. Though oddsmakers are projecting Alabama to beat Georgia in Atlanta in early December, Florida, Texas A&M, LSU and Auburn all have strong cases to punch tickets to the College Football Playoff this year. Tennessee just isn’t quite there.

Looking at Tennessee’s 2020 season schedule, the Vols will be lucky to get to 9-3 (6-2) this year. A road date at the Oklahoma Sooners in September is not how a rebuilding team wants to start a season off on a strong a note. Though a win in Norman would be monumental for Pruitt’s growing legacy, there’s no reason to believe the Vols will beat a top-five in the country at their place.

The rest of their non-conference games will be easy Vols victories. As for the eight-game SEC slate, we’re looking at a 5-3 overall conference record, give or take a game. Tennessee will not be favored to beat Alabama, Florida or Georgia. Alabama is the best of those three teams, but the Georgia game is the most certain loss because it’s in Athens. Florida and Alabama are at home.

With a bye before the Alabama game, Tennessee could win the Third Saturday in October on the fourth Saturday in October if the Crimson Tide foolishly overlook the Vols. Alabama enters its bye week after the rivalry game with Tennessee to help them get ready for LSU in Death Valley. As for Florida, it’ll be the first game away from Gainesville for the Gators, so we’ll see how that goes.

Overall, a 10-win season would be remarkable this season for the Vols, a nine-win season would be great progress, an eight-win season feels about right and a seven-win season wouldn’t be the end of the world. If Tennessee continues to win on the recruiting trail, the Vols will close the gap. For now, there is a gaping chasm between No. 2 and No. 3 in the SEC East. Vols get the bronze.

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