National media outlet makes big statement about Tennessee Vols and the 2025 college football season

The 2024 season didn’t end on a positive note for the Tennessee Vols — losing by 25 points to Ohio State isn’t how Josh Heupel’s squad envisioned the season ending — but it was still a very successful year for UT football.

Tennessee beat Florida and Alabama, making the Vols 4-2 in their last six games against the Gators and the Crimson Tide, and the program reached the College Football Playoff for the first time in program history.

Not bad for a program that was left for dead four years ago this month.

The Vols are continuing to trend in the right direction under Heupel. And in 2025, the goal for the program will once again be to compete for a national championship.

247Sports isn’t ready to label the Vols as a top national title contender for 2025 just yet. However, the national sports media outlet believes Tennessee is one of the teams that could “flash” next fall, suggesting that the Vols could “emerge as a serious national contender” if the program can provide quarterback Nico Iamaleava with some help.