Weighing if Tennessee can sustain success going into 2023 season

Tennessee had a standout 2022 season, giving Volunteer fans hope the squad can maintain that level of success going into fall 2023.

Joe Milton is back at quarterback after taking over late for Hendon Hooker after an injury. He maintained the offense will basically stay the same despite a coordinator change as well.

On3’s Jesse Simonton made the argument Tennessee should focus on other teams in the division before taking on Georgia head-to-head.

“Maybe we were kind of drinking our own Kool Aid a little bit too much because you’re looking ahead,” Simonton said to Andy Staples at SEC Media Days. “So I think the big thing for Tennessee this year is, we talked about this earlier in the week, are they closer to the pack in terms of the rest of the SEC East or have they really separated themselves as that No. 2 program?

“A lot of offense and I get it, they want that revenge, they have that November 18 game against Georgia circled. That’s the date, you know, that they’ve really blown up on the calendar. To me it’s Week 3 in Gainesville.”

Florida was disappointing to most last year after starting the season with a huge win over Utah. But if Billy Napier is able to push the right buttons, the Gators could surge right back up the SEC East.

But still, it’s a race for that No. 2 spot in the division behind Georgia, right now, and possibly a College Football Playoff spot.

If Tennessee has CFP aspirations, the Volunteers have to beat Georgia. But to even get there, they’ll have to take care of business against the Gators.

“If you’re as good if you’re as good as you think you are right now is the program if you are ascending, if you are going to be the number two team … you need to end 20 years of misery because you haven’t done anything down in the Swamp in almost 20 years and you’ve been the better team multiple times,” Simonton said.

Can Tennessee prove it’s the second best team in the division? It remains to be seen.

Heck, the Volunteers could very well be the best team in the division if it all breaks right. But it all starts with Florida early on in the SEC schedule.

Tennessee is set up to maintain its success level under Josh Heupel, but games are won on the field, not paper.