A to Z Sports Podcast Network

Kentucky is ranked No. 8 in the country. But are the Wildcats actually a top-10 team? The latest Big Orange Podcast breaks down Tennessee's massive matchup with Kentucky and asks whether the Wildcats are as good as their ranking suggests. Kentucky has put together an impressive résumé, with road wins over Texas A&M, South Carolina and Oklahoma, but Charlie Burris and Zach Ragan aren't convinced the Wildcats are truly one of the best teams in college football. The biggest reason? A lot of Kentucky's success has come down to extremely close games. The Wildcats needed a two-point conversion to beat South Carolina in overtime. They needed another two-point conversion to beat LSU. They also escaped several other close games before eventually losing to Vanderbilt. Remove those two-point conversions, and Kentucky's record — and national ranking — could look dramatically different. Tennessee, meanwhile, has a much better defense statistically. The Vols are currently No. 2 in the SEC in scoring defense, allowing just 17 points per game against conference opponents, while Kentucky is No. 9 at 27.3 points per game. That could be a major problem for the Wildcats when they walk into Neyland Stadium. Charlie and Zach discuss why they believe Tennessee has the better roster, why Kentucky may be benefiting from some fortunate breaks, and why the Vols could expose the Wildcats as a team that isn't quite as good as its No. 8 ranking suggests. But Kentucky isn't a bad football team. The Wildcats have a veteran quarterback, a solid coaching staff and have proven they can win difficult games on the road.

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With Kentucky coming to Neyland, Heupel once again declined to publicly name the Vols' starting quarterback. George MacIntyre appears to be the obvious choice after taking over the job and helping Tennessee win multiple games, but Heupel continues to keep the situation unofficial.Charlie Burris and Zach Ragan break down why they believe Heupel may actually be doing this intentionally.One possibility is that Tennessee still needs Faizon Brandon.MacIntyre has played well enough to earn the starting job, but the Vols have four more games remaining in November and one injury could immediately put Brandon back on the field. Keeping Brandon engaged, confident and prepared could be extremely important for Tennessee's playoff push.The guys also discuss the psychological side of the quarterback situation.MacIntyre is still extremely young and has continued to improve every week. Naming him the unquestioned starter could potentially add pressure to a quarterback who is still developing, while leaving the job unofficial allows him to continue playing without feeling like he has to prove himself every single snap.

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Tennessee isn't playing this weekend, but that doesn't mean Vols fans have nothing to watch.The latest Big Orange Podcast breaks down the biggest games Tennessee fans should be watching during the bye week and explains which teams the Vols should be rooting for as they continue to chase a spot in the College Football Playoff.With Tennessee sitting at 6-2, the results around the SEC could have a major impact on the Vols' playoff chances and potential seeding.Charlie Burris and Zach Ragan discuss several games that could directly affect Tennessee's postseason picture.One of the biggest games is Ole Miss vs. Auburn.The guys believe Tennessee fans should be rooting for Auburn because another loss for Ole Miss could eliminate one of the SEC's potential two-loss playoff contenders and make Tennessee's path much cleaner.They also discuss South Carolina vs. Oklahoma.Despite South Carolina being the team that just beat Tennessee, the Vols actually have a reason to root for the Gamecocks in this one. A South Carolina win could help Tennessee's playoff résumé and make the Vols' loss in Columbia look better to the College Football Playoff committee.

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Tennessee's College Football Playoff hopes are NOT dead.The latest Big Orange Podcast breaks down the Vols' remaining path to the College Football Playoff using the new A to Z Sports College Football Playoff Predictor.Tennessee enters the bye week coming off the brutal loss to South Carolina, but the Vols still have a legitimate path to the postseason.The guys walk through every remaining Tennessee game and show how the team's playoff odds change depending on what happens.At the start of the episode, Tennessee has a 23% chance to make the College Football Playoff according to the predictor.Beat Kentucky, and that number jumps to 32%.Beat Texas A&M, and Tennessee's chances climb to 51%

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Tennessee should have beaten South Carolina.That's the biggest takeaway from the latest Big Orange Podcast.Charlie Burris and Zach Ragan break down Tennessee's brutal loss at South Carolina and explain why the defeat shouldn't automatically be placed on Josh Heupel.The Vols fell behind 14-0 early, but responded by taking control of the game.Tennessee dominated much of the final 50 minutes, took a halftime lead, made strong adjustments and put itself in position to win the game late.In fact, Charlie and Zach believe it was one of Josh Heupel's better-coached road games at Tennessee.The problem was that the Vols couldn't finish.After controlling South Carolina for most of the afternoon, Tennessee had a chance to essentially end the game on a fourth-down play late in the fourth quarter.George MacIntyre failed to execute the handoff, resulting in a turnover on downs and giving South Carolina another opportunity.The Gamecocks eventually tied the game, and Tennessee's defense couldn't prevent LaNorris Sellers from making an incredible play at the goal line.Dylan Stewart then made the biggest defensive play of the game for South Carolina, forcing a fumble from MacIntyre and setting up the winning field goal.

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Everyone is picking South Carolina against Tennessee.But are they making the same mistake everyone made before Tennessee's previous losses in Columbia?The latest Big Orange Podcast breaks down the Tennessee-South Carolina matchup and explains why the Vols may be much better equipped to avoid the trap this time around.Charlie Burris and Zach Ragan discuss Tennessee's first trip to Williams-Brice Stadium since the disastrous 2022 loss and explain why this year's team is fundamentally different.The Vols are 6-1 after beating Alabama, but they enter Columbia as 2.5-point underdogs.South Carolina has a strong home-field advantage, a talented roster and a defense that ranks among the better units in the SEC.But the guys believe the national narrative around this game may be driven too heavily by Tennessee's history in Columbia.In 2016, the Vols suffered a devastating loss at South Carolina.In 2022, Tennessee entered Columbia with College Football Playoff and SEC Championship aspirations before getting blown out by the Gamecocks.

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Is Tennessee's defense actually the best defense in America?

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Did Tennessee just find the formula it needs to win the rest of the season?The Vols dominated Alabama in Knoxville, and the latest Big Orange Podcast breaks down what Tennessee's win over the Crimson Tide revealed about this team.Charlie Burris and Zach Ragan discuss the biggest lessons from Tennessee's impressive victory, including the emergence of a new offensive identity, the continued improvement of the offensive line and the importance of complementary football.Tennessee didn't need to score 40 or 50 points to beat Alabama.Instead, the Vols methodically moved the football, controlled the line of scrimmage and repeatedly ran the ball against the Crimson Tide.That was one of the most encouraging developments of the entire season.After weeks of questions about Tennessee's offense and whether the Vols could consistently move the football against elite SEC competition, Tennessee put together one of its most complete offensive performances of the season.The offensive line deserves a huge amount of credit.Tennessee was able to push Alabama off the ball and create running lanes for DeSean Bishop, who continued to emerge as one of the most important players on the offense.

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Can the Tennessee Vols beat Alabama for the third straight time in Knoxville?Charlie Burris and Zach Ragan break down the biggest matchup of the season on the latest Big Orange Podcast and explain exactly what Tennessee needs to do to pull off the upset against the Crimson Tide.The Vols enter the game as 7.5-point home underdogs, but Tennessee has a legitimate path to winning.The biggest key is obvious: the defense has to play like the defense we've seen throughout the season.Jim Knowles' unit has been one of the biggest reasons for optimism around Tennessee, and the guys believe the Vols can hold Alabama around 20 points if everything goes right.That would put the pressure on Tennessee's offense to simply score enough to win.George MacIntyre will make his first start against Alabama, and the young quarterback could be the biggest variable in the game.MacIntyre played well enough at Arkansas to give Tennessee confidence, but Alabama is a completely different challenge. He cannot make the same mistakes he made against Arkansas, particularly the interception that came from failing to see the safety.At the same time, Tennessee cannot play scared.The Vols will need explosive plays against Alabama, and Charlie and Zach believe MacIntyre will have to take some chances down the field. Tennessee isn't likely to sustain several long touchdown drives against a defense this talented, which means the Vols need to capitalize when opportunities arise.

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The Tennessee Vols have a massive quarterback decision to make before Alabama, and the latest Big Orange Podcast has a bold idea: why not use both George McIntyre and Faizon Brandon?Charlie Burris and Zach Ragan break down Tennessee's quarterback situation after George McIntyre led the Vols to a win at Arkansas and explain why they believe McIntyre should start against Alabama, even if Brandon is healthy.McIntyre has now won both of his SEC games as Tennessee's quarterback and took another step forward against Arkansas. He made several important throws, handled pressure and helped Tennessee escape Fayetteville with its first win there since 2001.That matters heading into Alabama.The guys believe McIntyre has earned the right to start against the Crimson Tide, particularly because he now has more SEC game experience than Brandon and has spent the past two games operating Tennessee's offense.But that doesn't mean Tennessee should completely abandon Faizon Brandon.Brandon's biggest strength right now may be his athleticism and ability to run the football. That leads to an intriguing idea: Tennessee could potentially use McIntyre as its primary quarterback while bringing Brandon into the game for designed runs, RPOs, short-yardage situations or other packages.

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