Paul Finebaum explains why he doesn't like this Tennessee team

At 5-2, No. 21 Tennessee is still having a pretty quality season considering all things. Even so, Paul Finebaum is not a fan based on what he has seen from the Volunteers this season and how they have underwhelmed him to this point.

Finebaum had his criticisms of the ’23 Vols during an appearance on ‘McElroy and Cubelic In The Morning’ on Monday. He made it clear that he isn’t high on the team and the past two weeks, a win over Texas A&M and a loss to Alabama, have done little to waver his opinion on the matter.

“I don’t like this Tennessee team at all,” Finebaum stated. “I didn’t like them a week ago in Knoxville, I don’t like them much more now. They’re undisciplined at times.”

Much of that dislike from Finebaum stems from Tennessee QB Joe Milton. While he still has faith in Josh Heupel as the coach, he isn’t sure how great the Volunteers can be, or could ever have been, with how Milton plays the position in their offense.

“I think (Heupel) is just handcuffed,” explained Finebaum. “I still respect him immensely. But he has got a quarterback that’s hard to predict where his next throw is going.”

“I’m probably not going to hit the panic button on Heupel. I think he’s caught, a little bit like Nick Saban, between quarterbacks,” Finebaum continued. “What I don’t understand is this – what everyone saw in Joe Milton.”

To be fair, Tennessee has had its moments over the course of this fall. With that said, those moments, for the most part, have come against below-average competition. The five teams they’ve beaten have posted an overall record of 17-18 in 2023.

Besides that, they lost by 13 to Florida and needed a punt return score to separate against the Aggies. Then, most recently, they blew a 13-point lead to lose by two touchdowns to the Tide last weekend.

Tennessee still has five games to go where, in some of them, they could shed this identity that Finebaum has labeled them with. Still, through eight weeks, he wants to be one of the first to admit that he got ahead of himself when it came to his preseason praise for the team over on Rocky Top.

“I’ll put myself in the group that led us to believe that this Tennessee team had a chance for greatness,” said Finebaum. “Against average or better opposition? They have been pretty sub-optimal.”