Longtime college football analyst makes strong statement about what could be in store for Tennessee Vols in 2024

Most folks in the national media don't seem to view the Tennessee Vols as a legitimate national championship contender.

The Vols have been left out of most College Football Playoff predictions, often being labeled as a potential "dark horse contender".

CBS Sports' Tom Fornelli, however, has a different view of Tennessee in 2024. Fornelli doesn't just think the Vols could compete for a spot in the 12-team playoff this fall, he thinks Tennessee could actually be in line for a bye in the playoff (which would mean that Tennessee would host a playoff game).

From CBS Sports : Do teams with the best offensive player and defensive player in their leagues tend to do well? The Volunteers have James Pearce Jr. on defense, and he could be the No. 1 player in the draft next spring. They also have Nico Iamaleava at QB, who was a five-star recruit and has the potential to be one of the best signal-callers in the country. Iamaleava's talent combined with Josh Heupel's offense combined with a defense that projects to be pretty solid is a very intriguing combination. This is a Tennessee team that will not only compete for a playoff berth but could be in line for a first-round bye .

The SEC is truly wide open in 2024.

Sure, Georgia is the favorite, and lots of folks seem to believe in Texas. But with more parity coming to the sport (thanks to NIL and the NCAA transfer portal), it feels like there's about seven or eight teams in the conference that have a real chance to make some major noise in the playoff this season. And Tennessee is undoubtedly one of those teams.

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