Tennessee football could lead the way on a one-sided SEC opening week | Adams

You already know the winners – with a few exceptions – before the SEC season kicks off Sept. 3.

The exceptions: Auburn vs. Baylor in Atlanta, Clemson at LSU, and Ole Miss vs. Louisville in Nashville. The rest of Week 1 should produce a procession of mismatches.

Never mind that NIL and the transport portal have raised the possibility of teams rising from obscurity to championships (See Indiana for details). They also have created greater disparity among the haves and have-nots in college football.

FCS and lower-level FBS teams struggle more than ever to maintain consistency. Too often, their best players transfer in pursuit of more money and greater competition.

So, be prepared for lopsided scores on the SEC’s opening week.

Tennessee 70, Furman 3: The Vols have won their last three openers against non-power conference opponents by a 166-19 margin. And in their last opener against an FCS opponent, they edged Chattanooga 69-3.

Vanderbilt 41, Austin Peay 10: You can see anything on the internet. For example, I read this headline: “Why Austin Peay football shouldn’t be counted out against Vanderbilt.”

Texas 47, Texas State 17: The Longhorns are ranked in the top five in preseason top 25 polls. The Bobcats are ranked in the bottom three of the Pac-12.

And yes, I almost forgot that Texas State is in the latest version of the Pac-12.

Texas A&M 53, Missouri State 13: I did forget that Missouri State is in Conference USA. But the Bears change names more often than they change conferences.

They first opened their academic doors as Fourth Central District Normal School (try fitting that into a headline). In between that and “Missouri State,” the school has been known as Southwest Missouri State Teachers College, Southwest Missouri State College, and Southwest Missouri State University.

South Carolina 44, Kent State 10: Gamecocks fans are hopeful that new offensive coordinator Kendal Briles will bring out the best from quarterback LaNorris Sellers.

I have no doubt Briles will do that in the first two games against Kent State and Towson. I’m not so sure about the other 10 games.

News flash: Kent State is no longer the worst program in the MAC.

Alabama 40, East Carolina 13: Biggest question for Tide fans: How will new starting quarterback Keelon Russell perform?

Another question: Is freshman EJ Crowell destined to be Alabama’s next great running back?

Arkansas 55, North Alabama 14: The Razorbacks football future looks brighter under new coach Ryan Silverfield. He had new, brighter lights installed in the Arkansas team room this offseason.

Auburn 24, Baylor 17: For Auburn, this marks the beginning of the Alex Golesh era. This also could be the beginning of the end of the Dave Aranda era at Baylor.

Florida 37, FAU 10: No matter how big Florida’s lead gets against the Owls, you can be sure no Gators will be checking their cell phone messages on the sideline.

When a reporter’s phone rang during new coach Jon Sumrall’s interview session at SEC media days, he threatened: “You’re lucky I’m not gonna throw this freakin’ podium right now.”

Sumrall’s popularity soared immediately.

Georgia 56, Tennessee State 0: Shutouts are hard to come by in this offensive era of college football. They’re not as hard to come by when the Bulldogs are playing an FCS opponent.

LSU 34 Clemson 17: You might bill this matchup as the Portal King (Lane Kiffin) vs. the Anti-Portal King (Dabo Swinney). LSU’s transfer class under Kiffin was ranked No. 1 in the 247Sports Composite. Clemson’s was ranked 56^th.

Kentucky 49, Youngstown State 22 : The Penguins ended their 2025 season by blowing a 28-point, second-half lead in the FCS playoffs against Yale. They won’t have to worry about blowing a lead against Kentucky.

Mississippi State 45, Louisiana-Monroe 17: The Bulldogs ended last season on a four-game losing streak. But they will have more carryover momentum than the Warhawks, who lost their last eight games in 2025.

Missouri 62, Arkansas Pine Bluff 10: I’m not ready to say Missouri owns Arkansas, but it has won six consecutive games against Arkansas schools.

ADAMS: Why Tennessee football could make playoffs with freshman QB Faizon Brandon

Oklahoma 54, UTEP 13: Sooners coach Brent Venables probably has bigger biceps than several UTEP starters.

Ole Miss 34, Louisville 27: An attractive matchup featuring two of the nation's top running backs – Kewan Lacy of the Rebels and Isaac Brown of the Cardinals.

But Louisville has a new starting quarterback, and Ole Miss has Trinidad Chambliss.

Last year’s record: 115-25 (.823), 81-47 (.633) against the spread.

John Adams is a senior columnist. He may be reached at 865-342-6284 or john.adams@knoxnews.com.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee football could lead the way on a one-sided SEC opening week | Adams