Bleacher Report Describes Tennessee Football's Expectations in Just One Word

The Tennessee Volunteers have an interesting season coming up, as they are just two seasons removed from being a college football playoff team, while also being one season removed from an 8-5 season, which many fans would describe as disappointing.

Fans having the opportunity to see the Vols in the college football playoffs during the postseason of 2024 gave them a taste of expectations moving forward. After they didn't meet that expectation in 2025, many fans questioned what the next expectation would be for the 2026 season.

Bleacher Report Describes Tennessee's Expectations in Just One Word

Jul 20, 2026; Tampa, FL, USA; Tennessee Volunteers head coach Josh Heupel speaks to the press during SEC Football Kickoff Media Day at the Tampa Marriott. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Bleacher Report recently described college football teams' expectations in one word, and they described the Tennessee Vols' expectation as "Hover." Here is why they described this as their expectation, according to the article.

"There is too much uncertainty at quarterback—a pretty important spot—to believe in Tennessee as a championship team. Simultaneously, there's a whole lot of surrounding talent to prop up an inexperienced QB. It's in the realm of possibility UT sneaks into the CFP, although that's an absolute best-case scenario," David Kenyon said.

Youth Plays a Major Factor in 2026

While many fans want a national championship, it doesn't seem that this season's expectations will be shooting for the stars in that manner, although that will always be the goal. With all of the turnover that Tennessee finished with this offseason, it is safe to say that this could be a trial run to see exactly what things will look like moving forward. This is also going to be a growing area for many position groups, which is something that Kenyon mentioned when it comes to the quarterback position.

As of now, it seems to be a two-man race for the job, with both true freshman Faizon Brandon and second-year gunslinger George MacIntyre. While both players have a ton of upside entering the season, neither one of them has had the chance to prove their worth against a different team due to the youth that they bring, and in MacIntyre's case, being the third-string quarterback for most of 2025.

The Importance of the Quarterback Decision Coming Up

While the decision is for this year, the decision will also be for the future now that there is a new five-for-five ruling, giving all college athletes the opportunity to play five seasons of football, but will eliminate redshirting as a whole. This means that playing MacIntyre for one season with the hope of Brandon developing is simply out of the window, which was already the case anyway with the recent growth in players entering the college football transfer portal prior to the spring game.

If the Vols were to make a college football playoff appearance, it would be a win in my book. However, there is absolutely a world where they miss the cut for the second season in a row.

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