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Welcome, football fans, to another year of hi-flying football action with YOUR Tennessee Volunteers! Football rings in the start of a season, with all of the sights, scents, and flavors of fall. Think it's a coincidence that our Vols are perhaps the most iconic color of autumn--orange? I think not. Despite being huge Christmas people, the Little O family loves fall more than any other season. And at our house, there is plenty of orange all around.

Along with the rest of Basilio Nation, we here at Little O's Blog have decided to make this year about the lads who suit up in the Orange & White--who choose to invest their blood, sweat, tears, ligaments, tendons, bones and brains here on The Hill--and NOT about the men wearing the headsets and making too much of YOUR hard-earned money. Those guys come and go and rarely return without having played here first (e.g., Majors & Fulmer). But the players, like the fans, are Vols For Life.

Speaking of returning, let's get back to Big Orange Business.

The 2017 Volunteers, as we all know, lost a lot of talent and leadership to the NFL draft and graduation. Gone are the Dobbses, Kamaras, Malones, Suttons, and Barnetts, to name a few. But there is still talent left on this team in the persons of John Kelly, Dormady, Guarantano, Jennings, Todd Kelly, Jr., and Warrior. Preseason rankings in the Top 25 of most major polls confirm that. It's a new day, and a chance for new leaders to emerge and etch their names in Volunteer lore.

But the same is true for the 12 teams our Vols will face this year. Let's go game-by-game and make our best guess at which teams we can pencil into the win column, and which games we may be griping about into the wee small hours of the morning on the Garza Law Firm Fifth Quarter Fan Reaction on your Tony Basilio app and at TonyBasilio.com.

9/4: Tennessee vs. (@) Georgia Tech:
I hate this matchup. Despite the historical significance of facing a former SEC opponent, I hate playing triple-option, cut-blocking teams. Whether it was Nebraska in the '90s, the military schools in the 2000's, or Georgia Tech now, those are the most frustrating, injury-riddled games to play and watch, and we never fare well in these situations. Our saving grace is that it's the first game of the year, so the Vols should be better prepared to face the quirky Tech offense. Oh, and, there should be a sizable talent gap, especially between the Big Orange offense and that Ramblin' Wreck of a defense.
W, Overall 1-0, SEC 0-0

9/9: Indiana St. @ Tennessee
I'm not going to waste words on a likely blowout. I just hope no one on either side gets hurt.
W, Overall 2-0, SEC 0-0

9/16: Tennessee @ Florida
I don't like away games against Florida. Despite getting the proverbial monkey (gator?) off our backs last year, I fear that the young talent, the lack of quality front 7 depth--Tommy Thigpen, why are there no linebackers?--and the unsettled QB situation may be too much for the Big Orange to overcome in Gainesville. Plus, you just know all 10 (and counting) suspended Gators will be back, fresh, and 100% healthy when they play the Vols.
L, Overall 2-1, SEC 0-1

9/23: UMass @ Tennessee
See Indiana St. above.
W, Overall 3-1, SEC 0-1

9/30: Georgia @ Tennessee
I like the young UGA QB, and they still have RBs to spare. Our weak and weary front 7 will be sorely tested on the last day of September. Despite Kirby Smart at the helm, I think the Bulldogs have a slight talent advantage. I could see this one going either way, but I'm holding out hope that Neyland Stadium can produce some of its old anti-Bulldog magic and help the Vols sweep the state of Georgia.
W, Overall 4-1, SEC 1-1

10/7: BYE WEEK
There's at least 1 week guaranteed without a loss.

10/14: South Carolina @ Tennessee
No way this should have been a loss last year. Despite another very good, young QB, I think the Vols figure out a QB situation, develop some young talent of their own, and discover some depth at key positions coming off the bye week. Home field advantage doesn't hurt either.
W, Overall 5-1, SEC 2-1

10/21: Tennessee @ Alabama
Do we really have to play this game again? Look, tradition is great, but I just want to get back to a place where we can really compete with these guys again. Or at least change the SEC rankings to count only division games toward your division finish to make things a little more equitable.
L, Overall 5-2, SEC 2-2

10/28: Tennessee @ Kentucky
Give me a break with all of this Kentucky love from the media. Sure, they're better than they've been, but they've beaten the Vols exactly once (yes, 1 time) in the last 32 years. And that includes the worst stretch in Tennessee program history by both statistics/records and by popular opinion.
W, Overall 6-2, SEC 3-2

11/4: Southern Miss @ Tennessee
Yes, they're better than UMass and Indiana St., but--with all due respect to my boys Brett Favre and Smoothie King's Tom Marine--if the Vols lose at home to Southern Miss, then I will flip.
W, Overall 7-2, SEC 3-2

11/11: Tennessee @ Missouri
Despite a decent offense, the Mizzou defense hasn't been the same since Gary Pinkel left. In fact, the entire university hasn't been the same since then. Even if it is on the road, I think the Vols win this one.
W, Overall 8-2, SEC 4-2

11/18: LSU @ Tennessee
I know, I know, Ed Orgeron is the head coach, and it's a home game. But they have LSU talent, most importantly RB Derrius Guice (whose name I still like to pronounce "Juice," because it's more fun than "Geiss"). I expect the "New Juice" to run all over our poor, worn down front 7 late in the year. It may be a low-scoring affair, but I don't like the matchup.
L, Overall 8-3, SEC 4-3

11/25: Vanderbilt @ Tennessee
Home field should be big in this one, as should the revenge factor for another loss that should never have happened last season. The Vols beat the doors off the 'Dores in Neyland for their first 9-win regular season since 2007.
W, Overall 9-3, SEC 5-3


Getting back to our historical average of 0.750 is overdue. Sure, it's not a championship season or even an SEC Eastern Division "Title," but it's a step in the right direction with a group of young offensive talent poised to return for next year. In fact, I first expected to predict an 8-4 Overall, 4-4 SEC season before writing this, but I just have a feeling--or at least a hope--about the Georgia game at home. Maybe it's the Peyton Manning effect: you lose your star QB (and, no, I'm not saying Dobbs was Manning), and your team rallies around each other to prove the nay-sayers wrong. Either way, it's good to have Tennessee football back again!

GO BIG ORANGE!

Georgia Tech game preview coming in the next 24 hours!

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