The calendar only just flipped to February. But for many in the college football world, it’s never too early to start thinking about next year’s college football season. Many publications around the media landscape have already published their way-too-early Top 25 rankings, Heisman picks, and playoff projections. But some are now starting to bring out a more narrow perspective.
Popular SEC podcaster and commenter Mike Bratton is going through all 16 SEC teams and posting his early projections for win-loss totals on the season. Some of Tennessee’s rivals include Kentucky with a 3-9 record, Alabama with a 9-3 record, and Vanderbilt with a 5-7 record.
Bratton has Tennessee’s early projection landing at a 9-3 season. It starts with three straight wins over Furman, at Georgia Tech, and Kennesaw State. He’s then got Tennessee losing its SEC opener at home to Texas, but bouncing back with a home win over Auburn, a road win over Arkansas, and a Third Saturday in October rivalry win at home against Alabama.
Before the bye week on Oct. 31, he’s got Tennessee losing a road game at South Carolina. Coming out of the bye week, Bratton has Tennessee picking up a home win against Kentucky before losing a road game at Texas A&M. Tennessee’s projection finishes up with a home win against LSU and a road win at Vanderbilt.
2026 SEC record prediction following the transfer portal period
Tennessee 9-3 pic.twitter.com/o7PlQZk772
— SEC Mike (@MichaelWBratton) February 2, 2026
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It’s fairly safe to suggest that Bratton’s early belief is that Tennessee’s quarterback situation works out in its favor and that the Vols have an improved defense under Jim Knowles and his new-look staff. Ultimately, those are the two biggest questions heading into Tennessee’s season.
As things stand right now, Tennessee will enter spring ball with a quarterback battle between redshirt freshman George MacIntyre, true freshman Faizon Brandon, and Colorado transfer Ryan Staub. Perhaps there’s a way that Joey Aguilar returns to the team following a successful court battle, but that situation is still up in the air. Analysts are projecting MacIntyre to be the starting quarterback with Aguilar’s situation still unfolding.
The other question is just how much Tennessee’s defense can improve under Knowles and his staff. In Tim Banks’ final season at Tennessee, the Vols struggled mightily on the defensive side of the field. While Tennessee boasted the top scoring offense in the conference, the Vols’ defense ranked 14th in the SEC in scoring defense. The Vols’ run defense was statistically better than the pass defense among the conference teams, but the combined result was bad nonetheless.
Knowles brings a championship-winning resume to Knoxville after a title win with Ohio State in 2024. Things weren’t as good with Penn State in 2025, but the program was a bit of a mess in general last season. We’ll see if Knowles and his staff can turn things around with Tennessee and its new portal haul next season. Some of Tennessee’s top additions include linebacker Amare Campbell (Penn State), EDGE rusher Chaz Coleman (Penn State), cornerback Kayin Lee (Auburn), defensive lineman Xavier Gilliam (Penn State), and safety TJ Metcalf (Michigan).
Here’s a look at how Tennessee’s 2026 schedule will unfold:
Sept. 5 – Furman at Tennessee
Sept. 12 – Tennessee at Georgia Tech
Sept. 19 – Kennesaw State at Tennessee
Sept. 26 – Texas at Tennessee
Oct. 3 – Auburn at Tennessee
Oct. 10 – Tennessee at Arkansas
Oct. 17 – Alabama at Tennessee
Oct. 24 – Tennessee at South Carolina
Oct. 31 – BYE
Nov. 7 – Kentucky at Tennessee
Nov. 14 – Tennessee at Texas A&M
Nov. 21 – LSU at Tennessee
Nov. 28 – Tennessee at Vanderbilt
