10-12. ETSU, UTEP, Charlotte
Tennessee’s three home non-conference games should all be easy wins. The key word here is “should,” but the three non-conference opponents the Vols play in Neyland this year could be three of the worst football teams in the 2018 season. And none of the three games are really any more important than the other.
ETSU is UT’s first game after West Virginia and the first home game of the season, and UTEP is after that and the game right before the Vols’ match-up with Florida. Charlotte will offer a nice break to start November after Tennessee finishes off their gauntlet of SEC games in September and October.
But all three of these teams are projected to be awful. ETSU is an FCS school and this will only be their fourth season of football since reinstating the program prior to the 2015 season. According to CBS Sports’ preseason rankings of all 129 FBS teams, UTEP is the 129th team in the country and Charlotte is 124th.
The Vols should have no trouble winning any of these games, and they should serve as games where UT’s coaches can get a look at some younger players.
