The seats are gone. Kennesaw State, Texas, Auburn and Alabama home matchups are sold out per reports. Furman, Kentucky and LSU still have a limited number of tickets available. This shows the fans are ready to roar. But the on-field reality is much messier. The team has sold out its last 27 games at Neyland Stadium. That streak is incredible. Yet the roster questions loom large.
The Ticket Rush vs. The Roster Gaps
Season tickets sold out for the fourth straight season. In April, the Vols stated that 70,500 season tickets representing their full allotment were sold. At that same time, Tennessee updated the season-ticket interest list to include 29,414 fans. The renewal rate hit 97% for a second straight year. Tennessee athletic director Danny White praised the crowd. “We often talk about how Vol Nation sets us apart, and this is yet another remarkable testament to that,” White said in a statement. Rocky Top hosts the best fans in all of sports, proving this with four consecutive seasons of selling out more than 70,000 season tickets.” The fans are buying in. But the team has big holes to fill.
The Quarterback Gamble
ESPN’s Bill Connelly wrote that Tennessee can be a College Football Playoff team only if they answer four big “ifs.” The first is if Josh Heupel has a quarterback. Finding the right player at the most important position is a requirement for The Vols. Redshirt freshman George MacIntyre and true freshman Faizon Brandon are competing for the spot. Both are former blue-chippers, but they’ve combined for 69 career yards. That is not a lot of experience for a tough schedule. Connelly observed, “Because the starting QB probably will be either redshirt freshman George MacIntyre or true freshman Faizon Brandon. Former blue-chippers both, they have combined for only 69 career yards, while the Vols face four projected top-11 teams.” The odds reflect the worry. Tennessee holds +5000 odds with BetMGM to win the national championship. There are 15 teams with better odds.
Can the Defense Wake Up?
New defensive coordinator Jim Knowles faces a tough test. Connelly wrote, “Knowles has crafted brilliant defenses at Duke, Oklahoma State and Ohio State, but he needed a year to figure things out in each instance.” Heupel hired Knowles to be an immediate firefighter, but that’s not what he has been to date. The secondary got help from the transfer portal. The roster additions include Kansas State nickel Qua Moss, Penn State safety Dejuan Lane, Michigan safety TJ Metcalf and Auburn corner Kayin Lee. The defense has new faces. But can they gel fast enough? The schedule is brutal. Home against Texas on September 26 marks the start of SEC play for The Vols. They host Alabama on October 17 and go to Texas A&M on November 14. The fans are packed in. The pressure is on.
Will the young QBs step up against top teams? Or will the defense need that extra year to fix things? The tickets are sold. The season is coming. The real test starts in September.
Do you think the new QBs are ready for the big SEC games, or is the team in for a rough start? Tell us your thoughts below.
