Paul Finebaum gives season prediction for Tennessee Volunteers
Paul Finebaum sees a path to success for Tennessee football in Josh Heupel’s second season. The ESPN analyst joined McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning on Monday, where he said nine wins is a reasonable expectation for Volunteers fans to have entering 2022.
But whether they can reach that number hinges on how well they start off.
“A lot depends early on that Pittsburgh game,” Finebaum said. “I think if they can get past that, they have a chance to really make some noise. We’ve overused the word alignment before. I was in Louisiana the other day and I heard that on every other street corner about Brian Kelly, Scott Woodward and the new (LSU) president. But I think it’s also accurate in terms of Tennessee, because alignment has always been out of control.
“Tennessee always looks like the car that should have won the Talladega 500 but gets knocked out in the first lap because the wheel fell off. You have an AD there, a president, a chancellor. I think with Josh Heupel, insiders knew he was an offensive play caller, but they weren’t sure what kind of head coach he would be. He’s turned out to be really strong. So I think that’s the hope there that everything stays together.”
Heuepel led Tennessee to a 7-6 finish in his inaugural season as the team ranked third in the SEC in total offense. With offensive stars such as quarterback Hendon Hooker and receiver Cedric Tillman set to return, there is hope of an even better record this year.
However, bad news came for the Volunteers last month when the NCAA alleged numerous violations from the team under former coach Jeremy Pruitt. That now brings up the question of how it will affect Heupel’s ability to build the program moving forward. Although Tennessee will certainly face scholarship and visit restrictions as a result, Paul Finebaum said he doesn’t see it having much of an impact.
“I know the cynics are going to want to point toward Jeremy Pruitt and say that’s the fly in the ointment, but I don’t think that matters,” the ESPN analyst explained. “I think Jeremy Pruitt is already baked into the cake. A lot of the penalties that Tennessee will ultimately deal with are already part of the process. Scholarship limitations, visitation limitations — I think they’re already paying that price.
“I think Tennessee is looking at eight or nine wins. Somewhere in there is realistic. I say that because you have to start the season with two losses and that’s Alabama and Georgia. It’s really how they navigate those tweener games is how they can get to eight or nine or get stuck in the 7-8 range.”
Having not enjoyed a 10-win season since 2007, Tennessee fans are anxious for a turnaround to take place. There is definitely a positive feeling following the success Heupel enjoyed in Year 1, but for that to happen the Volunteers to win in close contests. A Sept. 10 road matchup against Pittsburgh, which Tennessee lost to by a touchdown in 2021, will be telling of their progress.