Consider Josh Heupel was hired as a fallback head coach of the Tennessee Volunteers. Heupel had the advantage of knowing athletic director Danny White during their time together at Central Florida. In turn, White was comfortable with Heupel as a proven College Football Betting winner. After years of losing and boring football, Vol Nation was seeking excitement. Heupel provided that and more. Tennessee finished 7-6 in 2021 with a berth in the Music City Bowl. Following that was an 11-2 campaign in 2022. Including wins over the Alabama Crimson Tide and Clemson Tigers.
College Football Team Preview 2023 Tennessee Volunteers
| Odds to Win National Championship: | +3000 |
|---|---|
| Odds to win SEC Championship: | +1700 |
| Over/Under Win Total: | 9.5 |
2023 Tennessee Volunteers Schedule
- Aug 26 OPEN DATE
- Sept 2 Virginia (in Nashville)
- Sept 9 Austin Peay
- Sept 16 at Florida
- Sept 23 UTSA
- Sept 30 South Carolina
- Oct 7 OPEN DATE
- Oct 14 Texas A&M
- Oct 21 at Alabama
- Oct 28 at Kentucky
- Nov 4 UConn
- Nov 11 at Missouri
- Nov 18 Georgia
- Nov 25 Vanderbilt
2023 Tennessee Volunteers Preview
Equally important is that the Tennessee faithful has regained lost enthusiasm and passion for the program. For the first time in several years, there is sports betting optimism for Tennessee football. Now Heupel must prove he can lead the program to the next step.
Josh Heupel entered a lost Vols program when Tennessee hired him in January 2021. Previously, Jeremy Pruitt had been fired. And the Vols faced a mass exodus of players through the transfer portal. But Heupel turned around the culture. Cause by bringing in transfers and developing the current roster. Tennessee built on an impressive first season with a record-setting offense and a better-than-expected defense.
Heupel is one of only four Vols since 1941 to win at least seven regular-season games in his first campaign. The win over Alabama in 2022 was of the signature variety. Hence, there’s College Football Betting optimism for even more in 2023.
Tennessee won double-digit games last year for the first time since 2007. The program is on stable ground under coach Josh Heupel. However, the team’s high-scoring offense needs Joe Milton or five-star freshman Nico Iamaleava to replace Hendon Hooker at quarterback successfully.
The Volunteers also have a few voids to fill at receiver. But Bru McCoy and Squirrel White are poised for huge seasons in replacing Cedric Tillman and Jalin Hyatt. Last year, Tennessee’s defense took a step forward. However, more improvement is needed for Heupel’s program to close the gap to Georgia in the SEC East.
The Tennessee descent began when they won the 1998 national championship. Then-head coach Phillip Fulmer got too comfortable, and recruiting slipped badly. Thus, Fulmer was forced into retirement after the 2008 season. And the program has floundered ever since.
Namely, Lane Kiffin, Butch Jones, Jeremy Pruitt, and Josh Heupel followed Fulmer with limited success. Jones seemed on the cusp with 9-4 seasons in 2015 and 2016 but could not maintain momentum. Correlate Tennessee has relied too much on its past for its future. Recruiting and the SEC have changed dramatically since Fulmer was at the peak of his power.
Ironically enough, Tennessee has grown rapidly in population over the past two decades, with far more football talent available. But that has not translated into recruiting success for the Volunteers.
Of course, Tennessee has had plenty of great players in its storied past. Namely, Doug Atkins, Peyton Manning, Reggie White, Eric Berry, and Johnny Majors are among the Big Orange greats.