We’ve already discussed the fact that the 2015 Tennessee hype machine is somewhat out of control for a team that hasn’t been in any kind of title conversation since 2007, so let’s just pile on by looking at some early odds for Tennessee winning a title or an individual player winning the Heisman.
5Dimes, a popular offshore online sports gambling book, released some early odds for the 2015 season and Tennessee actually has some reasonable ones to do some big things in 2015. So – for entertainment only of course – here’s a look at where the Vols stand in a few key categories.
(If you’re not familiar with how these numbers work, a +2000, for example, indicates that a $100 bet would profit $2,000 in that situation).
Odds of Tennessee winning a national title: +6,600 (T-26th nationally)
Heisman odds: Joshua Dobbs +2,000 (T-11th nationally); Jalen Hurd +5,000 (T-28th nationally)
SEC Title odds: +900 (T-5th in the SEC, T-2nd in the SEC East)
Full list is you want to see where other teams/players rank.
Our take? Obviously too early to feel great about any of these odds, and we’ve said countless times that the Vols will have to show tangible improvement on the offensive line and be able to overcome a few depth/experience deficiencies at some positions to be a serious contender for anything listed.
But again, the fact that none of these odds are outrageous is more evidence that the Vols can at least be taken more seriously as a contender in 2015 than they have the past several years, and the nation is noticing the upswing at the end of the 2014 season and the young talent that Butch Jones is accumulating in Knoxville.
