Ken Ruinard / staff, The Greenville News via Imagn Content Services, LLC

Paul Finebaum Names College Football Playoff Team Being ‘Devalued’

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Jaron Spor | Last updated May 30, 2025 6:00 PM ET

In 2024, 12 teams qualified for the College Football Playoff, with six of them reaching this milestone for the first time in their school's history.

As the 2025 season approaches, all 12 teams are eager to return to the playoffs and compete for a national championship. However, some playoff teams are attracting a lot of attention, while others are not.

One team generating significant buzz this offseason, though not for positive reasons, is the Tennessee Volunteers. Last season, the Volunteers finished with a record of 10-3 but lost their star quarterback, Nico Iamaleava, to the transfer portal after his redshirt freshman year.

Iamaleava had an impressive first season as the starter, throwing for 2,616 yards, 19 touchdowns and five interceptions. However, he decided to transfer to the UCLA Bruins just before the spring game.

Despite their recent loss, the Volunteers currently have the 10th-best odds to win the national championship in 2025. On "The Paul Finebaum Show," SEC Network analyst Paul Finebaum was asked about Tennessee's upcoming game against the Georgia Bulldogs, scheduled for Sept. 13 at 3:30 p.m. ET.

Finebaum suggested that the game's afternoon timing, rather than being held at night, could indicate that the Volunteers are being overlooked.

"I'm not because I think it's the same day as the Florida-LSU game," Finebaum said. "I think the feeling is that it is a more significant game. I'm just telling you what I think. I don't really know. I think a lot of it has to do with Nico being gone. Tennessee is being devalued a little bit."

Tennessee is replacing quarterback Nico Iamaleava with Joey Aguilar, who served as Appalachian State's starter for the previous two seasons. Aguilar was initially committed to UCLA during the offseason but switched to Tennessee after Iamaleava committed to the team.

During his time at Appalachian State, Aguilar threw for 6,760 yards, with 56 touchdowns and 24 interceptions, while completing 60.1% of his passes. However, Iamaleava isn't the only offensive player who needs to be replaced.

The Volunteers are also looking to fill the spots of four out of five starters on the offensive line, as well as star running back Dylan Sampson, who has left for the NFL along with several starting wide receivers. He led the conference in both rushing yards (1,491( and rushing touchdowns (22) last season.

Tennessee hopes to have its offense in sync when it faces Georgia in the third game of the season.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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