
Tennessee football scheduled to play three ranked opponents in 2025
Tennessee's other nonconference matchups 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, while playing at Mississippi State, Alabama, Kentucky and Florida.
Tennessee is ranked No. 20 in the preseason US LBM Coaches Poll. The Vols will face three preseason ranked opponents this season: No. 4 Georgia, No. 8 Alabama and No. 17 Florida.
Oklahoma, Arkansas and Vanderbilt are also receiving votes on Tennessee's regular-season schedule.
2025 will mark Josh Heupel's fifth season as the Vols' head coach. From 2021-24, he guided Tennessee to a 37-15 (20-12 SEC) record and the first College Football Playoff appearance in program history.
More: Five opponents on Tennessee's 2025 football schedule not projected for bowl game
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Yahoo
3 hours ago
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Wide receiver Bru McCoy was the only player who appeared in a formal interview in the series. Episode 7 is the one to watch for Tennessee fans Tennessee is the only playoff team in the series, and that's highlighted in episode 7. Netflix filmed Heupel interacting with fans at the 'Vol Calls' coaches show at Calhoun's on the River. 'Just win. That's all it takes,' Heupel tells a fan when asked how the Vols can make the playoff. Heupel was right, as the Vols beat Vanderbilt 36-23 on Nov. 30 to earn a playoff spot. Highlights from that game are prominently featured in the episode. Diego Pavia: '(Expletive) … them dudes' from Tennessee Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia had some colorful remarks about UT before the game. 'We can beat Tennessee literally any given Saturday. They think they're going to destroy us,' Pavia said during an interview in episode 7. '(Expletive) every single one of them dudes, you know? We're gonna win this game at all costs.' Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea joined Pavia in his desire to beat UT. 'I want to (expletive) beat Tennessee, and I need everyone to be on the same page,' Lea told his players during a team meeting in the UT game week. 'We're not leaving that stadium Saturday without a win.' Netflix captured UT players singing during a victory celebration in the locker room after the game. 'We don't give a (expletive) about the whole school of Vanderbilt, the whole school of Vanderbilt, the whole school of Vanderbilt,' UT players sang. 'We don't give a (expletive) about the whole school of Vanderbilt. We're from Tennessee.' BOO CARTER Vols star is back as full participant in practice Bru McCoy tells his story to Netflix McCoy is also featured in episode 7. He talked about his upbringing in sports guided by his parents, who were both college athletes at Northern Illinois. 'I was raised by two athlete parents. My mom was a volleyball player. My dad played football,' McCoy said. 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But that just sets up the shock of the Vols' 19-14 loss, capped by quarterback Nico Iamaleava inexplicably running out of bounds on the final play. Needless to say, UT fans can skip that episode. Why Neyland Stadium atmosphere wasn't featured It's obvious that Netflix wanted to feature colorful characters and dramatic storylines in the series. That's consistent with its approach in NFL-centric docuseries like "Quarterback" and "Receiver." Pavia, for example, was featured prominently in the SEC series despite the Commodores not contending for the SEC title or a playoff bid. LSU's Brian Kelly and South Carolina's Shane Beamer — two of the sport's most outspoken coaches — also made several lengthy appearances in the series. So the series didn't spend much time on the electric atmosphere at Neyland Stadium, which typically demonstrates the crazy passion of SEC football. Netflix certainly had an opportunity to do that, as its crew was on hand for UT's 23-17 overtime win over rival Florida amid a sellout crowd of 101,915 that checkered Neyland Stadium in orange and white. Instead, that game was told from the Florida perspective, specifically the quarterback competition between Graham Mertz and DJ Lagway. Tennessee's 1998 national title team made a cameo In episode 1, during a portion on South Carolina, past national champions are mentioned to demonstrate how difficult it is for the Gamecocks to compete in the SEC. A photo of former UT coach Phillip Fulmer holding the 1998 national title trophy is featured. reporter Andy Staples lists Alabama, Florida, Tennessee, Auburn and LSU as examples of 'superpowers of the SEC.' Why Josh Heupel says so much about the Ohio State game Heupel gave a one-hour interview to Netflix in January. He talked candidly about the ups and downs of the 2024 season. Heupel beat his alma mater Oklahoma in an emotional game in September, just four months after his mother died. And he led the Vols to a field-storming victory over rival Alabama and their first playoff berth. But most of that interview didn't make the final cut. Instead, Heupel's comments about the Ohio State game wrapped up UT's portion of the series. Perhaps the Vols will be featured more if Netflix produces a second season of the SEC series. Adam Sparks is the Tennessee football beat reporter. Email X, formerly known as Twitter@AdamSparks. Support strong local journalism by subscribing at Get the latest news and insight on SEC football by subscribing to the SEC Unfiltered newsletter, delivered straight to your inbox. This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee football in Netflix SEC series: What did, didn't make show


USA Today
3 hours ago
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