5 Burning Questions for UT Football:

1)   Will Lane Kiffin’s offseason remarks hurt the Vols in the short run if the team doesn’t start out strong out of the gate?

 Jamey: By no means do I think his job will be in jeopardy if he gets off to a slow start, but other coaches and T.V. analysts will have a field day with Kiffin if he has blow out losses early. When Florida beats Tennessee by at least 17 points, expect PTI and all the shows to play the Kiffin "I can't wait til we sing Rocky Top all night long after we beat Florida" clip many times after the loss.

 Will: Yep. He’s going to be made to look foolish and I think that he’s aware of it. It’s a lot like what President Obama said about the economy when first taking office: the short term goals have to be different from the long term goals. Kiffin decided to forgo immediate respect for earned respect down the line. This wasn’t a small gamble. The Western Kentucky game’s a cake walk, but UCLA’s going to be a struggle and Florida could be a blood bath. Expect Tennessee to be lambasted in the media.

 2)  Does Tennessee have enough offensively to cover the 34 point spread in the opener with WKU?

 Jamey: This one is an interesting question. The Vols should win this game big, but we thought the same thing last year against UCLA. I expect Tennessee to come out flat in this game but they should end up winning by two touchdowns. The only way Tennessee covers this spread is if Bryce Brown, Montario Hardesty and Tennessee's defense all have huge days.

 Will: Yes and no. If they cover it’ll be a testament to how poor WKU is and not at all indicative of how far Tennessee’s improved on the offensive side of the ball. If you’re a betting man stay away from this one. The Vols are going to need a defensive or special teams touchdown to get to 34.

3)  Can Montario Hardesty stay healthy, and does it really matter given the talent at Tennessee’s RB position?  

 Jamey: The Ken Griffey Jr. of Tennessee running backs gets injured almost every other game. Lane Kiffin has complemented his leadership skills all offseason so I expect Kiffin to lean on him early. When he gets injured later in the season, expect Bryce Brown, Tauren "nobody's talking about me" Poole and David Oku to make sure that the running game stays strong. Even if Hardesty stays healthy, I expect Brown to be the starter eventually, possibly even by the Florida game.

 Will: For his sake, I hope that he’s healthy, but it doesn’t really matter. The RB’s will only be as good as the offensive line allows them to be. This OL has underachieved for the majority of their careers. If there are holes, any of the top 4 RB’s on the depth chart could get close to 1000 yards. That’s a big if.

4)  Game that is the best chance for the Vols to pull an upset? Game that the Vols have the best chance of being upset?

 Jamey: Best chance of Vols to pull an upset: Most Tennessee fans will probably say Georgia here. The Vols can beat Georgia and with the Bulldogs' tough non-conference schedule, the Bulldogs might be slumping by the time the Dawgs come to Knoxville. I am going with Ole Miss because I am not buying their hype. I am a huge Greg Hardy fan, but Houston Nutt has never done anything when he is picked to do well. He is a good coach and has a future pro quarterback in Jevan Sneed. The fact is that Nutt has struggled in the past with talent. If Tennessee and John Chavis shut down Darren McFadden and Felix Jones when Nutt coached at Arkansas, I expect Monte Kiffin to do better against Ole Miss.

Best chance to be upset: Considering some media members picked Tennessee to finish fourth in the SEC East, this might not be considered an upset. I expect Tennessee to have a better season than South Carolina, so to me, this is an upset. I expect South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier to retire after the season after another mediocre season. The reason I think this could be an upset is quarterback Stephen Garcia. Assuming he doesn't get arrested, Garcia is going to beat one team by himself and it could be Tennnessee that he defeats.

 Will: The Georgia game’s Tennessee’s best chance to pull an upset. The Dawgs have to be the aggressors at the line of scrimmage to win this game. The talent’s there for UGA, just a matter of putting the effort in and stay healthy (something that Georgia struggled with last year). This is the one game where tenacity and attitude can close the talent gap for the Vols.

 The UCLA game jumps off the schedule as one that could be an upset. The Bruins have about the same level of talent and the coaching staff’s are a wash. This one will come down to turnovers. That rarely bodes well for the Tennessee.

5) Will fan expectations stay reasonable or will there be a vocal minority warming the seat after a rebuilding year? Â

Jamey: Fan expectations never are reasonable so this one is an obvious one to me. There will be upset Tennessee fans after the Vols lose to Florida, which is idiotic because this is almost a guarantee. Tennessee fans need to be patient because Lane Kiffin will have one of the top recruiting classes every year. The talent will be there in two years, I just want to see what kind of quarterback play the Vols get and see how great Tennessee's playcalling is on offense. Even if Tennessee wins 10 games this season (not going to happen, relax) there will be fans that want more.

 Will: Of course fan expectations won’t stay reasonable. This the SEC. All 12 fan bases expect a league title every 3 or 4 years. It’ll be okay, though. Kiffin’s buyout alone will guarantee him 3 years to right the ship. Where it gets sticky is when we talk attendance. Tennessee’s entire athletics budget relies on football games being sold out. Demand is ridiculously low right now for football tickets. That does not bode well for Mike Hamilton. There’ll be talk of a change over the next 2 years, but there should be enough improvement after year 3 to stave that off.