Back in black.
Tennessee announced Monday that the Vols will wear their “dark mode” uniforms Saturday night inside Neyland Stadium when the No. 14 Volunteers host No. 18 Oklahoma. The Vols have never lost when wearing black helmets, black jerseys and black pants, downing Kentucky 44-6 in 2022, South Carolina 41-20 in 2023, and Kentucky 28-18 last season.
“What a great opportunity that God has blessed us with this week,” Vols junior linebacker Jeremiah Telander said Monday during a news conference. “Playing a night game against a great team like Oklahoma — black out, dark mode. This is what you come to Tennessee for. This is what college football is all about.
“I love these jerseys. We only wear them once, so it’s definitely super special. It’s around Halloween, so it’s a great opportunity to wear them.”
When fifth-year senior tight end Miles Kitselman was asked about the dark mode look, he jokingly said, “I love the black uniforms. They hide my muffin top a little bit.”
The Vols first donned their black jerseys and black pants during Josh Heupel’s first season in 2021, but they had white helmets that year. They defeated South Carolina and lost to Georgia wearing that combination.
Saturday will mark the only night game this season in Neyland Stadium. Last season’s Vols played four home games at night, four road games at night — including the 42-17 loss at Ohio State in the College Football Playoff first-round pairing — and walloped North Carolina State in Charlotte at night.
November home matchups for the Vols against New Mexico State and Vanderbilt have previously been announced as being afternoon kickoffs.
“We haven’t had a night game in Neyland this year, so everybody is excited,” Vols sixth-year defensive lineman Dominic Bailey said. “Everybody feeds off the vibe and energy. It will be really fun.
“Everybody likes wearing the black.”
Tennessee and Oklahoma are playing in the ABC prime-time matchup, which has a kickoff of shortly after 7:30. There is certainly an elimination feel to this showdown when it comes to the College Football Playoff, with no Southeastern Conference team with three losses reaching last year’s inaugural 12-team field.
The Vols are 6-2 overall and 3-2 in SEC play on the heels of Saturday night’s 56-34 thrashing of Kentucky in Lexington, while the Sooners are 6-2 and 2-2 after falling at home 34-26 to Ole Miss.
“None of the playoff stuff matters if you don’t take care of the weekend in front of you and the day in front of you and the meeting in front of you and the lift in front of you,” Kitselman said. “You attack it day by day and become very process-oriented.”
‘It’s all hard’
After the first full weekend of this 2025 season, Ohio State was ranked No. 1, with Penn State No. 2 and LSU No. 3.
As the calendar flips to November, Penn State and LSU are searching for new coaches following the respective firings of James Franklin and Brian Kelly.
Three SEC coaches have been fired before Halloween, and Heupel was asked Monday whether it’s tougher to win immediately at a new job or to keep things going over the long term.
“It’s all hard,” he said. “In this league and in this game, it’s all hard. It takes a great staff, and it takes everybody being on the same page. It takes players buying in.
“There is a lot of work that goes into it.”
Heupel was then asked about the multiple coaching tenures that have abruptly ended through the first two months of the season and whether it’s difficult to avoid thinking about those casualties while he’s going about his daily work.
“You see it for sure, but it’s the same thing we talk about with our players,” he said. “It comes down to controlling what you’re in control of. That’s the work that we put in and going out there and playing in a really good way.”
Lack of sacks
Tennessee was leading the nation with 26 sacks through six games, but the Vols are now tied for eighth in that category after amassing just one in the past two games.
“It’s a combination of things,” Heupel said. “Teams have gotten it out quickly, and sometimes there is chipping on the edges, which typically buys them a little more time. It also slows down their route structure. Also, when quarterbacks run, you’ve got to stay on the right side of the line of applying pressure and disrupting the pocket but not letting them get out.”
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com.