Urban Meyer predicts Tennessee will make SEC Championship game vs. Georgia

Urban Meyer is beginning to think Tennessee can make a serious run at the SEC Championship Game after seeing how the Volunteers have performed in 2024.

The former Utah, Florida and Ohio State leader actually went as far as to predict Tennessee will make it to the dance. Now, he’s not ready to give them the win just yet — he’s still riding with Georgia, but Meyer is of the belief that the Volunteers can make some noise over the next couple of months.

“I’ve got Georgia still up there,” Meyer responded, pressed on whether Tennessee would win the SEC, via The Triple Option. “I’ve got them (Tennessee) in the SEC Championship Game.”

Even if Tennessee loses the SEC title game, they’d likely find themselves in the expanded College Football Playoff in that scenario. That would be a huge accomplishment for Josh Heupel and company, and if the Volunteers get invited to the dance, who knows how far they could go.

Continuing, Meyer elaborated on why he’s bullish on the Volunteers, citing their win over the Oklahoma Sooners in Norman as a reason to get excited in Knoxville.

“I’ve got inside information there, and I ask every week, I have an NFL guy that scouts around and helps me with some stuff, and he commented, ‘It looks like Tennessee of old,’ that’s the respect I had for the old Tennessee outfit. I know Nico — the quarterback, we all love him. I think he’s certainly a Heisman candidate. I think he’s a top ten pick,” Meyer explained. “He’s got to do a couple things a little better, but he went into Norman, Oklahoma, and when you go into Norman, Oklahoma — he had a good day, but you’re at Oklahoma, and you find a way to go win that game.

“So, as I said on Big Noon, I’m going to say it again this week, he is not the only show in Knoxville. They are balanced on offense. They have a good running game. They’re good in the trenches, and they’re very good on defense. Obviously, we’re going to find out. They’re jumping into the rest of the SEC coming up here. But there’s no doubt — I have them as the No. 4, potentially No. 3 team in the country right now.”

Alas, Tennessee will take this weekend off, and then go back to looking to prove Urban Meyer right when SEC play picks up after their bye. First on the docket is a trip to face the Arkansas Razorbacks, in what should be a tremendous conference showdown, and a good way to ease back into the gauntlet for the Volunteers.