Teams: Syracuse Orange (0-0, 0-0) vs No. 24 Tennessee Volunteers (0-0, 0-0)
Day & Time: Saturday, August 30, 12:00 pm
Location: Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, GA
Line: Syracuse is a massive underdog, with a +13.5 spread against the Orange according to Fanduel’s odds.
TV/Streaming: ABC, WatchESPN
Radio: Cuse.com, TK 99/105, WAER 88.3, ESPN Radio, SiriusXM 138 or 193
Rivalry: Tennessee, 3-0
Current Streak:
3, TennesseeFirst Meeting: The 1966 Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, Florida was the first meeting between
Syracuse and Tennessee. Floyd Little rushed for 216 yards and earned the game’s MVP award. However, Tennessee would win 18-12.
Last Meeting: In Syracuse’s only meeting at Neyland Stadium, the Orange offense couldn’t find the end zone. The Volunteers scored on their first play from scrimmage and held the advantage to a 33-9 win in 2001.
Head Coaches: Syracuse: Fran Brown (second year, 10-3) | Tennessee: Josh Heupel (fifth year, 37-15)
Coach Bio: A quarterback, Heupel started his collegiate playing career at Weber State but suffered an ACL injury before starting a game. He transferred to junior college school Snow College. Afterwards, Heupel transferred to Oklahoma and was the runner up to Chris Weinke in the 2000 Heisman voting.
Heupel was drafted by the Miami Dolphins in the 6th round of the 2001 NFL draft but he didn’t make the team due to injury. He signed with the Green Bay Packers the next season but didn’t make it to training camp. He returned to Oklahoma to start his coaching career as a grad assistant. After a year at Arizona, Heupel went back to Oklahoma again and eventually became co-offensive coordinators with Jay Norvell. He eventually took offensive coordinator jobs at Utah State and Missouri as well.
Heupel took the UCF head coaching job after Scott Frost left for Nebraska. He led the Knights to Bowl games in each of his three seasons leading the program. Heupel was then hired by Tennessee in 2021. After a 7-6 record to start, Tennessee has reached at least nine wins in each following year under Heupel.
Last Year: Three ranked wins over No. 24 NC State, No. 15 Oklahoma and No. 7 Alabama led Tennessee to the nine-seed in the first 12-team College Football Playoff. However, Tennessee couldn’t advance past the first round.
Last Game: Ohio State scored on its first three drives, while Tennessee punted on its first three drives in the first round of the College Football Playoff. The Buckeyes used the momentum to secure a 42-17 blowout win and send the Volunteers home.
“Fear Me, I’ve Killed Hundreds of Timelords”: Cornerback Jermod McCoy was a second team All-American last year and a semifinalist for the Jim Thorpe Award. This year, McCoy has earned preseason first team All-SEC and first team All-American honors.
If Syracuse Wins: We know what the true shade of Orange is.
If Syracuse Loses: We blame the loss on the Aflac Duck.
Fun Fact: Tennessee is one of four teams that Syracuse plays this year from the 2024 College Football Playoff. The other three are Duke, SMU and Notre Dame. All four games are away from the JMA Wireless Dome.
