Tennessee football: 5 questions the Vols must answer in 2020

1. Does Tennessee football scare the SEC’s top tier?

No matter what you think of Tennessee football and the job Jeremy Pruitt has done to this point, the fact remains the Volunteers program won’t be “back” in the truest sense until they are competing at the top of the SEC.

They aren’t going to win the East this year barring something truly unforeseen but the question is if they can challenge the top dogs in the conference at all.

One thing that’s for certain is the Vols will have their opportunities to make some noise both in the SEC and on a national scale. Their second game of the season will take them to Norman against a quarterback making his second career start for Oklahoma. That will give Pruitt an opportunity to make a statement. Later in the season, they host Florida and Alabama and make a trip to Athens to face Georgia.

The Gators, Crimson Tide and Bulldogs all figure to be top-10 teams this season (in addition to the Sooners), so, again, Tennessee will have their chances to make statements. Whether or not they will is the real question.

With the talent that Pruitt has brought in and if he can construct the right gameplan, it wouldn’t be shocking to see them not only play their three toughest SEC matchups close but perhaps pick up a win against one of them. Sure, that’s not the same as playing in the conference championship game but, when you consider the depths that Tennessee football is climbing out of, it’s one heck of a start.

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