Last year was a renaissance season in which the Tennessee Volunteers posted their best year-end win total (11) since 2001, helping out many Tennessee sportsbooks bettors. There’s fresh optimism among the Smokies about the season ahead.
Much of that newfound hope is the direct result of head coach Josh Heupel, who has gone 18-8 (.692) since arriving in Knoxville from UCF in 2021.
To get a greater sense of where Heupel stacks up against his SEC coaching peers, BetTennessee.com broke down where each stands against the spread during their time with their current school.
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SEC Coaches Against the Spread
We utilized records from TeamRankings.com to determine which SEC football coaches have the best record ATS.
| Team | Coach | ATS Record | Cover Percentage |
| Arkansas | Sam Pittman | 22-13-1 | 62.9% |
| Tennessee | Josh Heupel | 15-11 | 57.7% |
| Georgia | Kirby Smart | 55-41 | 57.3% |
| LSU | Brian Kelly | 8-6 | 57.1% |
| Texas A&M | Jimbo Fisher | 33-26-1 | 55.9% |
| Alabama | Nick Saban | 119-98-3 | 54.8% |
| Florida | Billy Napier | 7-6 | 53.9% |
| South Carolina | Shane Beamer | 13-12-1 | 52% |
| Kentucky | Mark Stoops | 61-63-1 | 49.2% |
| Ole Miss | Lane Kiffin | 16-18-2 | 47.1% |
| Vanderbilt | Clark Lea | 11-13 | 45.8% |
| Missouri | Eli Drinkwitz | 16-20 | 44.4% |
For this list, only games from the coach’s current stint were included. Teams with new coaches entering the 2023 season were not included.
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Heupel Among SEC’s ATS Leaders
It’s safe to say that Heupel has been a safe bet since arriving at UT in 2021, posting a 15-11 record ATS with the Vols over the last two seasons.
That .577 win percentage ranked second leaguewide, behind Arkansas’ Sam Pittman (.629), with Heupel finishing ahead of the sport’s marquee names, such as Georgia’s Kirby Smart (.573), LSU’s Brian Kelly (.571) and Jimbo Fisher of Texas A&M (.559). This type of information can be helpful when betting on the Vols with apps like Caesars Tennessee.
Whether Heupel can join his SEC peers like Smart, Fisher, and Alabam's Nick Saban by winning a College Football Playoff title in 2024 is a matter to be decided on the gridirons of the South this fall.
As for the Vols’ futures, BetMGM Tennessee sportsbook has the team at +3500 to win the school’s first title since 1998, with +1400 odds on the school bringing home their first SEC crown in two decades this fall.
For now, Vols fans can rest soundly knowing that Heupel is among the SEC’s best coaches when it comes to covering the spread, with the former Oklahoma quarterback ranking ahead of the sport’s top coaches ATS during his time at Rocky Top, Tennessee.
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