The Vols return 17 starters from a team that won nine games for the first time in eight years and routed Northwestern 45-6 in the Outback Bowl.
Coach Butch Jones’ team will be a favorite – maybe a heavy favorite – to win the SEC East for the first time since 2007. Vols fans are hoping to snap the program’s longest streak without an SEC title – 17 years.
What’s not to like about this Tennessee team? Perhaps one thing. We’ll address that later.
In 2005, the Vols were coming off a 10-win season, an East Division title and a 38-7 trouncing of Texas A&M in the Cotton Bowl.