David Pollack: Tennessee is ‘100%’ a national championship contender
Tennessee heads into their bye week fresh off of their biggest game of the season. Defeating Oklahoma on the road in a 25-15 win that has some believing the Vols have the potential to be a national title contender this season.
College football analyst David Pollack is one of those people, recently explaining to Always College Football host Greg McElroy why he believes Tennessee could make a run toward a national championship this postseason.
“100% they’re national championship contender,” Pollack said. “And if you look at the rest of their schedule outside of at Georgia, which is not easy, and hosting Alabama, so that would be the two highest ranked teams, they’re going to be guaranteed to win. And it’s tough to say that, because you just saw Georgia-Kentucky, but with their offense and with their defense, they’re going to have very few off days together.”
When it comes to both sides of the ball, there haven’t been very many teams in the country who can rival what Tennessee has been able to do so far this season. Ranking top five in points scored and points allowed with four games under their belts and two versus Power Four opponents.
“Their defense is legit, and you talk about that defensive line. Greg, I remember watching that NC State game and 55 (Omarr Norman-Lott) comes in. Holy cow, and it’s not just guys to rotate in that are big bodies, you’re talking about 300 pounders with twitch. 21 (Omari Thomas), 20 (Bryson Eason), and you’re just like golly this is really impressive,” Pollack said. “I don’t have any concerns about their front, their secondary. Is there a team that can stay balanced enough to make plays in the back end?”
Tennessee’s defense has been nothing short of elite this year, allowing their first and second touchdowns of the entire season in the fourth quarter against the Sooners. But the Vols have been known for their offensive attack since head coach Josh Heupel arrived on campus. Now led by one of the most talented passers in the country who hasn’t scratched the surface of his potential yet according to Pollack.
“I pumped up Nico (Iamaleava) as much as anybody and watching his Iowa game and watching his first game, this dude is sensational. He’s Heisman Trophy-type good. He wasn’t great against NC State, he wasn’t great against Oklahoma, we haven’t even seen the best version of him. I think we’re going to see down the road, I think that’s what’s scary,” Pollack explained.
Iamaleava has shown flashes of why he was a five-star prospect coming out of high school, having a mix of impressive and pedestrian performances this season. Supported emphatically by a great defense and an extraordinary rushing attack. But in Tennessee’s two toughest games of the season, his team may need a little bit more from him.
“Can he continue to grow before they get to the Alabama game and the Georgia game?” Pollack asked. “Because he’s been okay, he wasn’t great against Oklahoma. They made some big plays, he had some big misses down the field that I thought he could have really blown the game open and made this thing go away quickly. So I don’t question who they are as a team, and they’re going to be a great team, but can they beat Bama and Georgia? That’s what they’re tasked to do down the stretch.”
Tennessee enters their bye week as the No. 5 ranked team in the nation, and it will be interesting to see how they continue to navigate through this season and push towards championship glory in a year where they have a target on their backs for the first time in a long time.