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Tennessee Football will play the best team in college football next season and also the worst, according to KeynoteUSA’s Football Power Index. The Vols’ opponents in 2024 range from No. 1 Georgia to No. 134 Kent State, the last-ranked team.
Tennessee was ranked No. 9 in the FPI with a projected record of 8.6-3.5. The metric gives the Vols a 36.9% chance of making the 12-team College Football Playoff, a 5.5% chance of winning the SEC, a 6.0% chance of playing in the national championship and a 2.7% chance of winning a national title.
Here’s where the Tennessee 11 FBS opponents rank in the FPI:
Number 1 Georgia
Projected Record 10.3-2.1 | SEC Win: 32.8% | Reaches Qualifiers: 79.1% | Reach the National Title Game: 31.6% | Win national title: 21.0%
Georgia has won seven straight against Tennessee. The Vols won consecutive games in the series in 2015 and 2016, winning 38-31 in Knoxville in 2015 and 34-31 in 2016, when Jauan Jennings caught Joshua Dobbs’ Hail Mary touchdown on the final play of the game.
Number 5 Alabama
Projected record: 9.3-3.0 | SEC Win: 14.4% | Reaches Qualifiers: 57.2% | Reach the National Title Game: 15.3% | Win national title: 8.5%
The Tennessee 52-49 in October 2022 at Neyland Stadium broke Alabama’s streak of 15 consecutive wins in the series. Tennessee won seven straight from 1995-2001 and won 10 of 12 from 1995-2006.
No. 8Oklahoma
Projected record: 8.2-3.9 | SEC Win: 5.1% | Reaches Qualifiers: 36.6% | Playing for the national title: 6.0% | Win national title: 2.8%
Oklahoma and Tennessee have met only four times, with Oklahoma winning the last three. Tennessee beat the Sooner 17-0 in the 1939 Orange Bowl, capping an 11-0 season. Oklahoma won 26-24 in the 1968 Orange Bowl, won 34-10 in Norman in 2014 and won 31-24 in overtime at Knoxville’s Neyland Stadium in 2016.
No. 20 Florida
Projected Record 5.9-6.1 | SEC Win: 0.7% | Reaches Qualifiers: 8.3% | Playing for the national title: 0.7% | Win national title: 0.3%
Tennessee lost a tough game in Gainesville last September, 29-16. Tennessee’s 38-33 victory at Neyland Stadium the previous September snapped a five-game losing streak in the series.
No. 28 North Carolina State
Projected record: 8.1-4.1 | Win ACC: 7.5% | Reaches Qualifiers: 13.9% | Playing for the national title: 1.0% | Win national title: 0.3%
Tennessee is 2-1 against NC State. The Vols lost 16-0 in Raleigh in 1911, won 13-0 in Raleigh in 1939 and beat the Wolfpack 35-21 at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta in 2012.
No. 34 Kentucky
Projected record: 6.0-6.0 | SEC Earn: 0.2% | Reaches Qualifiers: 4.8% | Playing for the national title: 0.3% | Win national title: 0.1%
Tennessee has won ten of its last 12 games against Kentucky dating back to 2012, including a 33-27 victory in Lexington in October. The Wildcats won at Neyland Stadium in 2020, their first victory in Knoxville since 1984, and in Lexington in 2011 and 2017.
No. 44 Arkansas
Projected record: 5.5-6.5 | SEC Earn: 0.1% | Reaches Qualifiers: 2.6% | Playing for the national title: 0.1% | Win national title: 0.0%
Tennessee and Arkansas have played only 19 times since 1907, and Tennessee won 13 times. Arkansas has won three straight and four of the last five since 2006.
No. 49 Mississippi State
Projected record: 5.1-6.9 | SEC Win: 0.0% | Reaches Qualifiers: 1.7% | Playing for the national title: 0.1% | Win national title: 0.0%
Tennessee is 29-16-1 in the all-time series against Mississippi State, dating back to 1907. The Vols have won 10 of the last 12, including a 20-10 victory at Neyland Stadium in 2019.
No. 76 Vanderbilt
Projected record: 4.0-8.0 | SEC Earn: 0.3% | Reach the Playoffs: 0.3% | Play for the National Title: 0.0% | Win national title: 0.0%
Tennessee has won five straight in the series after Vanderbilt went on a five-game winning streak in seven years from 2012 to 2018. The Vols won 22 in a row from 1983 to 2004.
No. 111 UTEP
Projected record: 5.9-6.4 | CUSA wins: 11.9% | Make the playoffs: 0.7% | Play for the National Title: 0.0% | Win national title: 0.0%
Tennessee is 3-0 against UTEP in a series dating back to 1986, with the two most recent games being shutout wins. The Vols won 24-0 in 2018, 56-0 in 1990 and 26-16 in 1986.
No. 134 State of Kent
Projected record: 3.3-8.8 | MAC winner: 0.6% | Reach Playoffs: 0.0% | Play for the National Title 0.0% | Win national title: 0.0%
Tennessee has never played Kent State in football. The Golden Flashes went just 1-11 this season, with the only win coming at home against Central Connecticut State in September.
Keynote USA
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