How Tennessee Vols outdid the rest of the SEC in scheduling a MAC opponent | Adams

The college football season is just getting started. That means it’s way too early to put much stock in the top-25 rankings.

However, it’s not to early to rank Tennessee for its strategic nonconference scheduling. I have ranked the Vols No. 1 in my SEC MAC Attack poll for being shrewd enough to schedule Kent State. If you can't bear the suspense, scroll to the end of the column for my complete rankings of the seven SEC teams who wisely chose a MAC team for one of their nonconference opponents.

Kent State's appearance at Neyland Stadium next Saturday also will serve as a reminder of what was missing from Tennessee’s 2023 schedule. Nary a MAC team could be found.

But the Vols rebounded nicely by scheduling the Golden Flashes for their third game this season.

The SEC’s reliance on the MAC opponents is nothing new. But it’s important to remember not all MAC teams function at the same level of incompetence. Also, teams rise and fall suddenly in that conference.

Tennessee apparently recognized that the Golden Flashes haven’t been doing much rising lately. They haven’t had a winning season since 2012 when they miraculously won 11 games. Scientists probably are still doing lab tests to determine how that happened.

Since then, Kent State has lost eight or more games seven times. It outdid itself last season by going 1-11. As dreadful as Golden Flashes football has been, that was the first time it had lost 11 games since 1998.

Did you notice I just made a Tennessee-Kent State connection? The Vols were a perfect 13-0 in winning the 1998 national championship. That same season, the Golden Flashes achieved a perverse form of perfection by losing all 11 games.

Last year, they came within a game of another winless season by cleverly scheduling something called Central Connecticut State. The Golden Flashes won easily, 38-10.

That victory apparently didn’t scare off the Vols, who decided to play Kent State as scheduled.

Here’s how I rank SEC teams in my first SEC MAC Attack poll (remember, my rankings are based on the expected ineptitude of the MAC opponent. The worse you are, the higher you are ranked):

1. Tennessee: Kent State, which also will contribute to the betterment of Penn State football by playing the Nittany Lions the week after their visit to Neyland Stadium.

2. Vanderbilt: Ball State, which won four games last season, is 1-7 over the past eight seasons.

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3. South Carolina: Akron, which has won four games combined in the past two seasons under former Mississippi State coach Joe Moorhead.

4. Missouri: Buffalo, which went 3-9 last season but tried to regroup by hiring new coach Pete Lambo and adding 12 transfers.

5. Texas A&M: Bowling Green, which likely saved coach Scott Loeffler’s job by posting its first winning season in eight years.

6. Kentucky: Ohio, which could incur a drop-off after back-to-back 10-win season.

7. Mississippi State: The Bulldogs could have their hands full with Toledo, which went 11-3 overall and 9-0 in the MAC last season.

John Adams is a senior columnist. He may be reached at 865-342-6284 or john.adams@knoxnews.com . Follow him at: twitter.com/johnadamskns.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: How Tennessee Vols outdid the rest of the SEC in scheduling a MAC opponent | Adams