Mark WiedmerAs well as any hot and steamy week in late August can go for a major college football coach, this has been a pretty good one thus far for Tennessee’s Butch Jones.
First, his Vols were ranked ninth in The Associated Press’ preseason poll (they were already 10th in the coaches’ poll), which gives them a fair amount of respect without putting them at the top of every opponent’s bulletin board, as so often happens with No. 1 Alabama.
But just in case Jones was worried about such moderate acclaim going to his players’ heads, three of CBS Sports’ college football “experts” then gave him his own bulletin board material when they ranked the Big Orange the Southeastern Conference’s “most overrated” team.
Or as the website’s Tom Fornelli wrote: “The Vols might be really good this season. They might win the SEC East. These things definitely fall within the realm of possibility. It’s just, this is the same Tennessee team that hasn’t beaten Florida since 2004 and hasn’t won against Georgia in Athens since 2006. It’s also 3-13 against ranked teams under Butch Jones, so while I see the potential, I’m still approaching with caution.”
Added Jon Solomon: “Despite all of the hype, Tennessee will lose just the right number of games to fall short of the SEC East title. I’ll believe in the Vols when I see it.”