If Tennessee is to make a run at a second consecutive appearance in the 12-team College Football Playoff later this year, the Volunteers will have to eliminate multiple losing streaks.
Tennessee will enter the 2025 season having lost 10 consecutive times at Alabama, 10 straight times at Florida and on eight consecutive occasions to Georgia regardless of location. The Vols have even lost four straight meetings with Arkansas, last topping the Razorbacks in 2007.
It’s a daunting task given those respective series histories in recent years, so here is a late February look at Tennessee’s five toughest tests this fall.
AP photo by Wade Payne / Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava is tackled by Florida’s Jaden Robinson and George Gumbs Jr. last Oct. 12 in Knoxville. The Vols won 23-17 in overtime, but this year they’ll face the Gators in Gainesville, where they haven’t won since 2003.1. Florida in Gainesville (Nov. 22): This has become a gargantuan mental block for the Vols, who have lost in the Swamp to Florida teams that went 4-8 in 2013, 4-7 in 2017, 6-7 in 2021 and 5-7 two years ago. Tennessee struck quickly in the 2023 meeting for a 7-0 lead but then proceeded to allow 26 consecutive points. This year marks the first Florida-Tennessee contest ever held in November, and the Gators expect to build off an 8-5 season with the return of quarterback DJ Lagway, running back Jadan Baugh, receiver Eugene Wilson, and offensive linemen Austin Barber and Jake Slaughter. Lagway could very well be the best quarterback Tennessee faces this season, and Lagway’s backup is Harrison Bailey, who started three games for the Vols as a freshman in 2020 under Jeremy Pruitt.
AP photo by Wade Payne / Georgia receiver Dillon Bell celebrates a touchdown as he’s lifted by offensive lineman Micah Morris during the Bulldogs’ 38-10 win in Knoxville on Nov. 18, 2023.2. Georgia in Knoxville (Sept. 13): The Bulldogs have not only won eight straight in this border matchup but all eight by at least two touchdowns, with last November’s 31-17 decision marking the most competitive game Tennessee has produced in that stretch. Georgia’s dominance has been even more profound in Knoxville, where its 41-17 victory in 2021 has been the closest of the past four encounters at Neyland Stadium. Kirby Smart’s Bulldogs have been college football’s premier program of the 2020s, but they were bounced in the CFP quarterfinals by Notre Dame and had 14 players invited to the upcoming NFL combine. Whether Gunner Stockton is the answer at quarterback remains to be seen, but Smart got him some help by obtaining transfer receivers Zachariah Branch (Southern California) and Noah Thomas (Texas A&M). Having this showdown so soon in the season will give this an early 1990s feel.
AP photo by Vasha Hunt / Tennessee defensive lineman Omarr Norman-Lott celebrates after recovering a fumble against Alabama on Oct. 21, 2023, in Tuscaloosa. The Vols have beaten Alabama two out of the past three seasons, but both of those wins were in Knoxville. Tennessee will return to Tuscaloosa this fall seeking its first road win against the Crimson Tide since a five-overtime victory in 2003.3. Alabama in Tuscaloosa (Oct. 18): Alabama rolling to 15 consecutive victories in this historic rivalry under the legendary Nick Saban has been updated with Tennessee taking two of the past three meetings, including last October’s 24-17 topping in Josh Heupel’s fourth season with the Vols and Kalen DeBoer’s first with the Crimson Tide. Even Alabama’s win two years ago in Saban’s swan song was closer than most, as the Vols took a 20-7 lead into the third quarter. DeBoer’s Tide have one of the Southeastern Conference’s most intriguing quarterback races with Ty Simpson, Washington transfer Austin Mack and five-star freshman Keelon Russell, and whoever emerges will have nice pieces around him in the form of offensive linemen Parker Brailsford and Kadyn Proctor, and receivers Germie Bernard and Ryan Williams.
AP photo by Adrian Kraus / Syracuse coach Fran Brown, center, leads his team onto the field before a home game against Ohio last Aug. 31. Brown’s debut season produced a 10-3 record, and the Orange will kick off his second campaign by facing Tennessee in Atlanta this August.4. Syracuse in Atlanta (Aug. 30): Tennessee has opened its first four seasons under Heupel by shredding Bowling Green, Ball State, Virginia and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga by the average score of 54-8. Facing Fran Brown’s Orange will be significantly steeper, as the former Georgia defensive backs coach went 10-3 in his first season at Syracuse and snagged former LSU backup quarterback Rickie Collins out of the transfer portal to replace Kyle McCord. There is a significant gap between Florida, Georgia and Alabama and this contest in the challenging department, but season openers always contain unknowns. That could be the case for this pairing that was announced in July 2021, when the Vols were six months into the Heupel regime following Pruitt’s 3-7 finale, while the Orange were coming off a 1-10 year under Dino Babers.
AP photo by Alonzo Adams / Tennessee defensive lineman Joshua Josephs reaches for Oklahoma quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. last Sept. 21 in Norman. The Vols earned a 25-15 road win in Oklahoma’s first league game as an SEC program, and the Sooners will visit Knoxville this year.5. Oklahoma in Knoxville (Nov. 1): This is a make-or-break season for Sooners fourth-year coach Brent Venables, who has sandwiched a pair of 6-7 records around a 10-3 middle year. He will try to make it with Washington State transfer quarterback John Mateer, who ranked eighth nationally last season in passing efficiency by completing 224 of 347 passes (64.6%) for 3,139 yards with 29 touchdowns and seven interceptions. The Vols also have a revenge opportunity against Arkansas inside Neyland Stadium on Oct. 11 that’s intriguing, but Mateer and the Sooners should be the tougher test.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com.