Colin Cowherd predicts SEC team not named Georgia to win National Championship

“[Alabama and Georgia] aren’t the best teams in the SEC. I’m gonna call it right now: Tennessee is gonna win the national championship. I came on this show before the Oklahoma game [last week], and I said, ‘Oklahoma, they’re not gonna score.'”

Tennessee’s got the best defense in college football, excellent coach, explosive offensively. I think Tennessee’s the best team I’ve seen. Tell me I’m wrong.”

Cowherd made these comments during a segment of his show with Fox Sports’s Joel Klatt, who quickly responded to the bold prediction.

“[Tennessee is] national championship caliber. I do not think that they’re the best I’ve seen, partly just because of the inexperience at quarterback. Remember, [Nico] Iamaleava, while he played really well, still made a few mistakes [against Oklahoma] because OU still plays really quality defense.

I love him as a talent, and the defense certainly is, I would say, making up for a lack of blue-chip ratio. So they don’t have the requisite roster, you would say, to go win a national championship.

…I think that they’re [national championship] caliber. But to just state that they’re the best team that I’ve seen, I think that that’s a bit of a bridge too far.”

While Cohwerd’s prediction is a bit unhinged, Klatt’s response seems to be a bit more realistic.

Yes, Tennessee is currently 4-0 and ranked No. 5 in the latest AP Top-25 poll after defeating No. 15 Oklahoma on the road last week by a final score of 25-15. But does that mean the Volunteers have what it takes to beat a powerhouse program like Georgia or Alabama?

There are still plenty of questions about this season’s Tennessee team, and since they’re part of the SEC, they still have several opportunities to prove their doubters wrong.

On Oct. 19, the Volunteers will play at home against Alabama (currently No. 4 in the AP Top-25). A few weeks later, on Nov. 16, Tennessee will travel to Georgia (No. 2 in the latest AP Top 25) for a big showdown.

If the Volunteers win both of these contests, the talk about them competing for this season’s national championship will likely become much more serious.

But first, Tennessee needs to ensure they avoid getting upset in their next matchup on Oct. 5 when they travel to take on Arkansas in the Razorbacks’ home stadium. Arkansas is unranked, but the school is currently 3-1 and coming off an impressive 24-14 road victory over Auburn.

The Volunteers haven’t defeated the Razorbacks since 2007 or won a game in Arkansas since 2001. But if Tennessee truly is at a national championship caliber like Klatt and Cowherd believe the school is, they should have no problem getting a victory over the Razorbacks.