Texas is the No. 1 team in the AP poll. Georgia, winner of an SEC-record 42 straight regular season games, was the No. 1 team in the country before them. Alabama is still Alabama. Ole Miss is trying to score 100 on every team it plays.
But through three weeks of this still-young season, the best team in the SEC -- and, by default, the best team in the nation... just ask them -- might not even be in that group.
Three games in, Tennessee has beaten its opponents by a combined score of 191-13. Among those three opponents are one apiece from each bucket common to major college football teams: one Power 4 team (NC State), one G5 team (Kent State) and one FCS foe (Chattanooga). It's admittedly not the most difficult schedule any college football team has ever faced, but the Vols' 168-point differential leads the nation.
Scoring Offense: 1st, 63.7 (Ole Miss 2nd, 56.0)
Scoring Defense: 2nd, 4.3 (Ole Miss 1st, 3.0)
Yards Per Play: 4th, 8.09 (Ole Miss 1st, 8.87)
Yards Per Play Allowed: 1st, 3.07 (Indiana 2nd, 3.36)
Tennessee also ranks near the top in a number of other traditional statistics: yards per carry allowed (third), yards per carry (fifth), defensive passing efficiency (fifth), opponent third down conversions (second), red zone defense (fourth), gains of 10-plus yards (third), gains of 10-plus yards allowed (fourth), and even punt returns of 20-plus yards (first).
But Tennessee's across-the-board statistical dominance doesn't fully reveal itself until one gets another few feet down the statistical rabbit hole. Brian Fremeau's BCFToys website includes a number of metrics that reveal which teams succeed on both sides of the ball on a per-play and per-drive basis. And the Vols lead the country in almost every single one of them.
Possession Efficiency: 1st, 2.54 (Ohio State 2nd, 2.25)
Net Points Per Drive: 1st, 5.2 (Ole Miss, 4.17)
Net Available Yards Percentage: 1st, .71 (Ohio State, .502)
Net Yards Per Play: 1st, 6.14 (Ohio State, 5.47)
Drive Success Rate: 1st, .78 (Miami, .71)
In net field position, Tennessee is a disappointing second nationally among FBS teams that have played at least two games vs. other FBS opponents. Tennessee is at 19.5, trailing national leader UNLV at 19.8.
The Vols season begins in earnest in Norman on Saturday night. Alabama and Georgia will follow down the line. This Tennessee team will be tested.
But three weeks in, there's not a team in college football off to a more impressive start.