Joel Klatt labels Tennessee a ‘legitimate national title contender’

Tennessee‘s offense has yet to be slowed down through four games played this season.

Ranking third in total offense entering Week 6, only Ole Miss and Miami (both have played five games) have been able to out pace them of that side of the football. The Vols have compiled 2,263 yards (7.2 per play) this season with 24 touchdowns to show for it and are the nation’s top scoring offense.

While Fox Sports analyst Joel Klatt sees not only Tennessee’s offensive firepower seperating them from the pack this season, he thinks their defensive unit is what will turn them into national championship contenders by the end of the year.

“I’m pleasantly surprised with what’s going on with Tennessee,” Klatt said on Wednesday. “They have the number one scoring offense in the country. They’ve got the number two scoring defense in the country. They’re doing it on both sides of the ball. And candidly, I’m all in on Tennessee.”

Klatt continued, comparing this year’s Vols to the reigining national champions, the Michigan Wolverines in more than one way.

“Last year, Michigan was 14th in the team composite score. That means a measure of your talent across your entire roster,” he said. “And last year’s Michigan team was 14th in the country, as far as most talented team in the country. It just so happens that that was one of the lowest composites that we’ve seen win the national title in a long time. … This Michigan team was a bit of an anomaly. But what did they have?

“They had a deep, great defense. Number one, and the most talented player on their composite list was their quarterback. JJ McCarthy was the highest-rated player that Michigan had. So they had a quarterback that could elevate them over the X’s and O’s, and actually, JJ did that. Nobody in college football converted more third and long’s than JJ McCarthy. He was their best player. Their most talented player was their quarterback, and they had a deep, great defense.”

He compared that to Tennessee’s composite so far this season, and they rank 17th. However, Klatt said he sees Nico Iamaleava in a similar light as he did JJ McCarthy last year by being the team’s most dynamic player. They’re both aided in being able to control the game thanks to how strong their respective defenses have performed each time they take the field.

This rings true for Tennessee in 2024, allowing 28 points through four games defensively as the Vols are outscoring teams by an average of 47 points per game this season. Eclipsing the 50-point mark in each of its first three games, no team has found an answer for Josh Heupel’s Volunteers thus far.

Tennessee will face its first true road test of the season this weekend against Arkansas in Fayetteville. Kickoff is slated for 7:30 p.m. ET in what is expected to be yet another high-scoring affair for the Vols.