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Tennessee football began its national championship season in 1998 with a victory over Syracuse.
What does that have to do with the Tennessee-Syracuse matchup in Atlanta on Aug. 30?
Nothing. It’s just a blatant attempt to gain favor with my readers, most of whom always welcome a sentence that includes “Tennessee football” and “national championship.”
Tennessee 31, Syracuse 17: I don’t have a clue how good the Vols offense will be this season. But I know how good the Syracuse offense will be.
Not nearly as good as last season. And not good enough to succeed against UT’s defense.
Texas 27, Ohio State 24: Former Tennessee quarterback Peyton Manning’s first victory against a top-10 team came at the end of the 1995 season when he led the Vols to a 20-14 victory over No. 4 Ohio State in the Citrus Bowl.
Nephew Arch could make the Mannings 2-0 against the Buckeyes.
LSU 31, Clemson 27: This shapes up as Clemson’s best team since it won the 2018 national championship. But this also should be LSU’s best team since it won the 2019 national championship.
It might even have enough talent to win an opener under coach Brian Kelly.
Alabama 30, Florida State 17: The Seminoles spent $265 million on stadium renovations. Imagine if they had only spent $225 million and invested the other $40 million in the transfer portal before the 2024 season, which was their worst in 50 years.
But by finishing 2-10, they set up Mike Norvell to be college football’s Comeback Coach of the Year in 2025 – if there were such an award.
Baylor 37, Auburn 34: The Tigers likely are headed for a better season than in 2024. But they won’t have a better opener.
Auburn beat Alabama A&M 73-3 in their previous opener. It should have scheduled a rematch rather than a trip to Baylor, which is expected to contend for the Big 12 championship.
Ole Miss 51, Georgia State 10: Just wondering: Has Ole Miss’ Landshark mascot gone the way of its Black Bear?
Ole Miss replaced politically incorrect Colonel Reb with Black Bear in 2010. But Black Bear flopped terribly and was replaced by Tony the Landshark in 2018.
Now, the Landshark is hanging out on the endangered species list. He hasn’t been spotted at an Ole Miss sporting event since the spring of 2021.
Mississippi State 38, Southern Miss 17: This should remind Bulldogs fans that coach Jeff Lebby has a reputation for offense even though that was easy to forget in his first season in Starkville.
The Golden Eagles didn’t give up fewer than 32 points in any of their last seven games on the way to a 1-11 season.
Vanderbilt 45, Charleston Southern 13: My only question: Will Commodores quarterback Diego Pavia deliver more touchdowns or postgame-interview expletives?
Texas A&M 47, UTSA 20: The Aggies should have no trouble running on the Roadrunners but would be wise to practice their passing. Notre Dame in South Bend is just two weeks away.
South Carolina 31, Virginia Tech 21: It’s not farfetched to think the Gamecocks could be 5-0 when they travel to LSU on Oct. 11. That could hinge on how much help they give quarterback LaNorris Sellers.
Oklahoma 52, Illinois State 6: Brent Venables has changed Oklahoma’s image in three years on the job.
No longer do I look to the Sooners for an outrageously high-scoring offense. They plodded their way to a 6-7 record last season by failing to score more than 27 points in a conference game. In fact, they scored only 20 in a one-point Armed Forces Bowl loss to Navy.
Perhaps, Washington State transfer quarterback John Mateer can help return the Sooners to their high-scoring roots.
Kentucky 27, Toledo 20: Advice for the Wildcats: If you want to pick on the MAC, pick Kent State, not Toledo. The Rockets beat Mississippi State by 24 points in Starkville last season.
Arkansas 51, Alabama A&M: 3: The SEC is so replete with elite quarterbacks the Razorbacks’ Taylen Green is often overlooked. But he produced 3,756 yards of offense last season.
Braylen Russell and New Mexico State transfer Mike Washington should combine with Green to bolster Arkansas’ running game.
Florida 56, LIU 7: Now that the Gators have introduced Long Island to the SEC, I expect the Sharks to become a popular nonconference opponent for other SEC teams. LIU even lost to Saint Francis last season.
Georgia 47, Marshall 3: Uga likely will leave his icehouse long enough to check out quarterback Gunner Stockton in his first season as the Bulldogs’ full-time starter. But Georgia fans also will pay close attention to the other end of the Bulldogs passing game.
Georgia had the least reliable wide receivers in the country last season.
Missouri 45, Central Arkansas 13: The Tigers will have a home-sweet-home start. They won’t play their first road game until October 18.
Record (2024): 103-30 (.774), 68-49 (.581) against the spread.
John Adams is a senior columnist. He may be reached at 865-342-6284 or john.adams@knoxnews.com.
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