logo
Five opponents on Tennessee's 2025 football schedule not projected for bowl game

Five opponents on Tennessee's 2025 football schedule not projected for bowl game

USA Today11-07-2025
The 2025 college football season will unofficially kick off July 14-17 at Omni Atlanta Hotel at Centennial Park and the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta, Georgia.
Fifth-year Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel, along with student-athletes Arion Carter, Miles Kitselman and Bryson Eason, will represent the Vols at SEC media days.
Tennessee will kick off its 2025 campaign with a nonconference matchup against Syracuse. The season opening contest is slated for Aug. 30 at noon EDT, and will be televised by ABC. Tennessee's other nonconference games in 2025 are against East Tennessee State, UAB and New Mexico State at Neyland Stadium.
The Vols will also host Georgia, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Vanderbilt in 2025, while playing at Mississippi State, Alabama, Kentucky and Florida.
Ahead of SEC media days and the upcoming season, ESPN Football Power Index released percentage chances for Tennessee's opponents to become bowl eligible in 2025. ESPN FPI determines a team's bowl eligibility chances by a percent of season simulations, in which a team won at least six games (typically bowl-eligible).
Five teams on Tennessee's 2025 football schedule are not projected to play in a bowl game: Mississippi State, New Mexico State, UAB, Syracuse and Vanderbilt.
More: 2025 win-loss record projections for all 16 SEC football teams
Chances for Tennessee's 2025 football opponents to become bowl eligible
*East Tennessee State competes in FCS and is not included
Follow Vols Wire on Facebook and X (formerly Twitter).
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Michael Penix Jr. involved in scuffle during Falcons joint practice with Titans
Michael Penix Jr. involved in scuffle during Falcons joint practice with Titans

Yahoo

time25 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Michael Penix Jr. involved in scuffle during Falcons joint practice with Titans

Tempers flared during Wednesday's joint practice between the Atlanta Falcons and Tennessee Titans and quarterback Michael Penix Jr. found himself in the middle of the scuffle. [Join or create a Yahoo Fantasy Football league for the 2025 NFL season] After Penix hit Ray-Ray McCloud III on a deep pass, Penix was exchanging pleasantries with Titans defenders when things went from heated to physical. The Falcons quarterback ended up in the middle of a pile as players from both teams ran over from the sidelines. 'They had a lot of words throughout practice, so I gave them my words and it just went a little bit too far," said a smiling Penix. There were no reported injuries from the incident and Penix was out on the field for the next series. Several instances of pushing and shoving occurred after that, but no punches appeared to have been thrown. "[Penix] started it on that one, on Team 1," said Titans linebacker Arden Key, via ESPN. "But again, those guys in Atlanta, they protected the quarterback, which they were supposed to do. O-line came in, did what they did, and we wasn't allowing that, but that's what they were supposed to do." Penix was appreciative of his teammates coming to his aid before anything escalated saying, "A lot of guys asked me if I was good, and it was good to know that those guys had my back." The second-year Falcons quarterback joked he blacked out during the fight and that he was "somebody else out there." Not one to initiate trash talk, Penix said he's not afraid to give it right back to opponent who thinks he doesn't have the ability to dish it out. "They probably looked at me as just the quarterback, [that] I wasn't that type of person," Penix said. "But I'm from Tampa. I'm from Dade City. ... There's a respect part about it. We're all playing, we're all competing at a high level, but when disrespect comes in, it's like, 'All right, this ain't football no more.'" Falcons head coach Raheem Morris has already announced that Penix will not play on Friday in the team's second preseason game against the Titans. Kirk Cousins will also likely sit with Easton Stick and Emory Jones seeing action.

ESPN's Laura Rutledge Wows Fans With 'NFL Live' Outfit
ESPN's Laura Rutledge Wows Fans With 'NFL Live' Outfit

Yahoo

time33 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

ESPN's Laura Rutledge Wows Fans With 'NFL Live' Outfit

ESPN's Laura Rutledge Wows Fans With 'NFL Live' Outfit originally appeared on The Spun. This week is turning out to be a pretty memorable one for ESPN host and reporter Laura Rutledge. Rutledge started her ESPN career in 2014 as a SEC reporter. She was eventually named the host of "NFL Live" in June 2020. While she'll continue to host that show during the 2025 season, she'll also have to carve out time in her schedule for an elevated role on "Monday Night Football." It was reported on Tuesday that Rutledge will join Troy Aikman, Joe Buck and Lisa Salters for every "Monday Night Football" game this season. "Rutledge, now a two-time Emmy recipient as the host of NFL Live and reporting for SEC on ABC, has joined Buck, Aikman and Salters for marquee MNF regular season games and ESPN's Wild Card and Divisional playoff games for the past few seasons, sharing the sidelines with Salters more than a dozen times," ESPN's press release states. "In those same seasons, Rutledge was the sideline reporter with Fowler, Orlovsky, and Riddick for select MNF dual game weeks. This season, in addition to appearing on MNF each week, fans will continue to see Rutledge host NFL Live and SEC Nation on Saturday mornings." Instead of celebrating her promotion, Rutledge showed love to her "Monday Night Football" teammates. "Congratulations to Lisa who continues to set the standard in our business. Class, talent and professionalism personified," Rutledge wrote on X. "So excited for you two, Katie George and Peter Schrager." Just a few hours after landing this promotion, Rutledge hopped on the set of "NFL Live" to conduct her usual role. She wore a dress that clearly grabbed people's attention. "Goodness, Laura. You look amazing," one fan wrote on X. "Wow, Laura. Also congrats on the MNF gig," another fan said. "Ok Laura has definitely been in the gym. Great job," a third fan commented. It's safe to say Rutledge is a fan favorite at ESPN. Football fans will get to see plenty of Rutledge this fall due to her roles on "NFL Live" and "Monday Night Football." The NFL season officially begins on Sept. 4 when the Philadelphia Eagles host the Dallas Cowboys. ESPN's Laura Rutledge Wows Fans With 'NFL Live' Outfit first appeared on The Spun on Aug 13, 2025 This story was originally reported by The Spun on Aug 13, 2025, where it first appeared.

Florida star QB DJ Lagway's injury raises concern about College Football Playoff run
Florida star QB DJ Lagway's injury raises concern about College Football Playoff run

Yahoo

time34 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Florida star QB DJ Lagway's injury raises concern about College Football Playoff run

It doesn't matter how it happened, only that it did. And that the long- and short-term future for one of college football's top young players is now in question. Florida quarterback DJ Lagway is quickly becoming Mr. Glass. Shoulder, hamstring and core injuries in his first year in Gainesville, and now a calf injury in fall camp. 'I'm not an injury-prone guy,' Lagway said last month during SEC media days. Then a left calf strain arrived before the start of fall camp, and now the inevitable is here: when and how could the glass crack again? Lagway missed time or didn't participate full-go throughout the entire offseason, multiple injuries not only stalling his development - but also leaving the Gators' 2025 resurgence in question. In one short year, Lagway's injury timeline has moved from unlucky to unnerving. Whether it's increased level of competition, intensity of training or just plain bad luck, four injuries (two relatively serious) before the start of Lagway's second season is cause for concern. More problematic: it's not a long or difficult a jump from calf strain to a much bigger problem. Especially since we've seen it of late among the greatest athletes in sports. Aaron Rodgers and Tyrese Halliburton dealt with calf strains in the last two years, and both strains preceded season-ending Achilles injuries. Kevin Durant's Achilles injury in 2019 started with a calf strain, too. But before we go down that rabbit hole and scuttle the season for a rising star quarterback and a team with College Football Playoff hopes, before we make too much of Lagway wearing a compression wrap on his left calf in practice, maybe he's not Mr. Glass at all. Maybe he just got dinged more times than most. 'The whole injury thing, for the most part, is relatively new for me,' Lagway said last month, and he hasn't spoke to media since. 'I feel better than I ever have right now.' It was last month when Lagway admitted to USA TODAY Sports that the throwing shoulder injury didn't occur during his breakout freshman season as most believed, but that it was something he dealt with the entire season. A season in which he won every game he started and finished. His 6-1 record overall as a starter included a lone loss to Georgia, where he left late in the second quarter with a hamstring injury — with the Gators leading 10-3. Other than that, Lagway's freshman season (even with modest numbers) was high-level production in the nation's most difficult conference. He has had soreness in the shoulder since high school, and has typically used rehabilitation instead of surgery to overcome pain and stiffness. The shoulder injury (and the core injury) forced him to miss throwing in spring practice. Then the calf injury showed up before fall camp, and despite the soreness, Lagway has been throwing and looks sharper than ever. The only question now: will the calf hold up? 'The guy's been working hard all summer,' Florida coach Billy Napier said earlier this week. 'Certainly, hopefully, he'll be able to do more and more as we go day-to-day.' That's not exactly a ringing endorsement, but it's also all Napier and Florida have to hold. Because with Lagway, Florida is a legitimate threat to reach the College Football Playoff. Without him – and with sixth-year nomad Harrison Bailey or former walk-on Aidan Warner playing quarterback – the Gators may have problems reaching bowl eligibility. Earlier this week, former Alabama coach Nick Saban – speaking during his Nick's Kid's Foundation event – said five teams could win the SEC this season. One of those teams was Florida. ARCH MADNESS: Rumors with Nick Saban and Cleveland Browns are plain dumb TOUGH ROADS: College football toughest schedules based on preseason poll Even with the uncertainty of Lagway's health, or the nation's toughest schedule. Which, frankly, Napier and the team are getting tired of talking about. Spot the ball, they all say now. Doesn't matter that the schedule includes games away from Gainesville against Georgia, LSU, Miami, Texas A&M and Mississippi, and home games against Texas and Tennessee, Florida played the same schedule last year. And by the end of the regular season (and with a healthy Lagway), the Gators were playing as well as anyone in the SEC. There's a lot to like about this Florida team, one that Napier has patiently and organically built through high school recruiting instead of relying on the crapshoot that is the transfer portal. An experienced and deep offensive line, some of the SEC's best young skill players and a defense that developed last year with Lagway. In the six games Lagway started and completed, the Florida defense gave up an average of 13.1 points per game. In the other seven games, the Gators gave up an average of 31.5. 'He makes everyone better,' Napier said. 'That's what rare players do.' If they can stay on the field. Matt Hayes is the senior national college football writer for USA TODAY Sports Network. Follow him on X at @MattHayesCFB. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Florida faces DJ Lagway injury concern ahead of playoff run

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store