For Vols, will less hype mean more comfort?
Tennessee football was gaining momentum about this time last year. More and more people were identifying it as the team most likely to win the SEC East.
For half a season, they were right. Early season victories over Florida and Georgia gave the Vols the upper hand in a divisional race that seemingly was going to end with them in the SEC championship game. Losses to South Carolina and Vanderbilt led to a less glorious ending.
Those losses are worth remembering in the months leading up to another SEC football season. They are even more significant if you’re trying to pick a favorite in a division as shaky as this one.
There’s no sure thing in the SEC East.
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Georgia will be the consensus favorite. It could return as many as 10 starters on defense and has one of the nation's best running-back tandems with Nick Chubb and Sony Michel.
However, Tennessee was a more solid pick last season than Georgia is now. The Bulldogs have questions at wide receiver and in the offensive line. And although five-star quarterback Jacob Eason was good enough to start as a freshman, there were questions about him, too – mainly related to his lack of mobility and decision-making under duress.
But there’s a huge upside to having an uncertain favorite. It fosters hope for almost every fan base in the division.
Even Kentucky fans can be optimistic. The Wildcats are loaded with returning starters from a team that upended in-state rival Louisville and qualified for a bowl.
Some South Carolina fans might be just as optimistic. They can point confidently to sophomore-to-be quarterback Jake Bentley as an emerging star, and there are enough promising young offensive players around him for support. Also, second-year coach Will Muschamp has a reputation for fielding a competent defense, though you couldn’t tell it while watching South Florida score 46 points in the Birmingham Bowl.
Florida is trying to come up with a top-flight SEC quarterback. Sound familiar? As frustrating as the post-Tebow Era has been for their offense, the Gators still have won the past two division championships with pedestrian quarterbacks. Why should they think 2017 will be any different?
Despite what happened last season, many UT fans will put that behind them and envision a rational path to the SEC championship game. In fact, not being the favorite will be perceived as an advantage to some. After all, the Vols didn’t win the national championship in 1997 when quarterback Peyton Manning made them a favorite. They won it in 1998 when they began the season with less fanfare and without Manning.
On the way to that national championship, they had to overcome a powerhouse Florida team just to win the division. Now, the conference's only powerhouse program is in the West.
The West offers Alabama. The East offers hope.
Reach John Adams at 865-342-6284 or john.adams@knoxnews.com and on Twitter @johnadamskns.