http://www.saturdaydownsouth.com/se...ried-qa-phil-steele-talks-sec-saturday-south/
Entire interview is worth a quick read, but here's the question specifically about the Vols from Jon Crist of SDS to Phil Steele:
Entire interview is worth a quick read, but here's the question specifically about the Vols from Jon Crist of SDS to Phil Steele:
JC: All the stars appear to have lined up for Tennessee this season. The Volunteers return a ton of starters. The rest of the SEC East appears to be in rebuilding mode. If Butch Jones and Co. can’t get it done this year, they may never get it done. How confident are you in the Vols?
PS: The Vols are my pick to win the East, but a four-game stretch will determine whether they get to the SEC title game.
On Sept. 24, they host Florida, which has a Top 10 defense and beaten them 11 straight years. The next week they have to travel to Georgia, and RB Nick Chubb should be up to speed by Week 5. They then go on the road a second straight week to College Station to take on a talented and dangerous Aggies squad. If they have anything left in the tank, they host Alabama the very next week.
They can probably afford one loss in that four-game stretch, but not two. Seven of my nine sets of power ratings still picked the Vols to win the East, and I give them about a 70-percent chance of doing so.
PS: The Vols are my pick to win the East, but a four-game stretch will determine whether they get to the SEC title game.
On Sept. 24, they host Florida, which has a Top 10 defense and beaten them 11 straight years. The next week they have to travel to Georgia, and RB Nick Chubb should be up to speed by Week 5. They then go on the road a second straight week to College Station to take on a talented and dangerous Aggies squad. If they have anything left in the tank, they host Alabama the very next week.
They can probably afford one loss in that four-game stretch, but not two. Seven of my nine sets of power ratings still picked the Vols to win the East, and I give them about a 70-percent chance of doing so.
