Tennessee Football 2025 Schedule: Layups, swings, traps and prove-its

Josh Heupel enters year five at Tennessee looking to build off of his previous success and a College Football Playoff berth last season. He’ll have to replace signal caller Nico Iamaleava with Appalachian State transfer Joey Aguilar, along with finding replacements for Dylan Sampson, several receivers and four starters up front on the offensive line.

We’ve talked about that at length, but we haven’t taken a deep dive into the schedule.

The Volunteers have a similar schedule to last season with the

conference simply flipping home and away games from the 2024 slate. Home games against Georgia and Oklahoma and road games against Alabama and Florida will more than likely define the season for Tennessee.

However, there are several more spots on the slate worth worrying about. Let’s dive in.

Stats of note

Before we begin, keep these numbers in mind.

Tennessee is 25-3 in the Josh Heupel era at Neyland Stadium.

Heupel is 8-10 on the road since arriving at Tennessee.

Layups

vs. ETSU

vs. UAB

vs. New Mexico State

Tennessee will roll through ETSU then they get two bad FBS squads in UAB and New Mexico State. The two schools combined for six wins in 2024.

Don’t Sleepwalk (Should-be wins)

vs. Syracuse (Atlanta)

Syracuse took a huge step forward last season under Fran Brown, riding Kyle McCord and a really fun offensive group to a 10-3 mark. However, the Orange lost a ton off of that offense over the offseason and now must reload with Notre Dame transfer Steve Angeli under center. Syracuse ranks 55th in ESPN’s S&P+ metric. Tennessee should out-talent ‘Cuse in Atlanta, but the Volunteers will be working in plenty of new themselves. It shouldn’t surprise anyone if this one ended up being a close game as both sides work in new faces.

at Mississippi State

Jeff Lebby’s first-year team was flat out bad. What’s in store for year two? Mississippi State has just been penciled in as the worst team in the conference by most, but Starkville can be a tricky place. They’ve already announced Tennessee as a white-out game and that stadium will be hungry for an upset. It just kind of feels like that Arkansas spot from last season, doesn’t it? Don’t forget how well Heupel and Lebby know each other, too.

vs. Arkansas

Speaking of Arkansas, Tennessee will undoubtedly be looking for some revenge here. The Razorbacks stormed back in the fourth quarter last season to beat the Volunteers, handing them one of two regular season losses. Quarterback Taylen Green is back, so is running back Braylon Russell. Sam Pittman will be coaching for his life here — be careful.

vs. Vanderbilt

The Commodores were certainly keyed up for last year’s game in Nashville, but ran out of depth as the game wore on. Diego Pavia was rocked time after time, never really getting anything going to build off of that first quarter. Can the ‘Dores really roll into Knoxville and beat Tennessee? We’ve got a lot to learn by then, but Pavia’s non-stop chirping all summer long will likely keep the Volunteers up and ready to make a statement against him in November.

Trap Game

at Kentucky

Tennessee hasn’t lost to Kentucky since that hideously weird 2020 season that saw Jeremy Pruitt circle the drain. Josh Heupel is 4-0 against the Wildcats, but he’s won a couple of squeakers in both attempts in Lexington. We know Kentucky gets up for this one and this season will be no different.

Now consider the when of this game. It’ll be an October 25th kickoff at the always-cold Kroger Field. It almost always seems to be a night game up there too. Tennessee draws the Wildcats coming off of a huge trip to Alabama — a game that could have the Vols’ College Football Playoff chances hanging in the balance. Just ahead of Kentucky is Heupel’s old school Oklahoma paying him a visit in Knoxville.

Tricky, tricky — especially considering Heupel’s road struggles. Will Kentucky have enough juice in the tank to pick up their third win over Tennessee in the last 14 tries?

Toughest Spots — Prove you can win these games

vs. Georgia

An early September showdown could set the tone for both sides here. Tennessee will know a little bit about themselves following the Syracuse game to open, but they’ll learn the rest on September 13th at Neyland Stadium. Georgia is once again reloading, most notably at quarterback with Gunner Stockton now running the show.

Tennessee gave Georgia a pretty good shot for three quarters last season in Athens. They haven’t beaten the Bulldogs since the Dobbs-Nail Boot game back in 2016. Can the Volunteers snap an eight-game skid in this series? If so, you can put them on the fast track to the thick of the CFP debate.

at Alabama

Tennessee hasn’t won in Tuscaloosa since way back in 2003. Here lately, it seems like they can put three quarters of a winning effort together, but can’t quite get over the hump down there. Alabama will be entering into the Ty Simpson era this fall which creates a bit of an unknown for the Crimson Tide. Kalen DeBoer will be looking for a little more consistency at the quarterback spot this fall following the hot and cold play of Jalen Milroe from last season.

Joey Aguilar will have to face the cowbells down in Starkville two weeks earlier, but this will be the first truly hostile environment he’ll see at Tennessee. How will he respond? The season could very well be on the line.

at Florida

Tennessee also hasn’t won in Gainesville since 2003. It really hasn’t mattered how bad or how good each side has been, Tennessee has just found ways to lose down there in the The Swamp. Florida has another brutal schedule this season, but they do have some fans out there after a strong close to the 2024 season. The season may hinge on the development of quarterback DJ Lagway, who has been battling injuries getting ready for the season.

Obviously the difference here this year is that this game will come in November. The traditional September matchup has moved to later on the calendar as the SEC did away with divisions to accommodate Oklahoma and Texas. The Volunteers haven’t been to The Swamp this late in the season since 2001, creating a very different wrinkle for 2025.

Once again, this could be a game that Tennessee rolls into with two losses and a CFP berth on the line.

Swing Game

vs. Oklahoma

Josh Heupel didn’t waste any time finding his first win over his old school last season, heading to Norman and knocking off the Sooners. The team he quarterbacked and helped coach will now come to his house this season, reloaded and ready to bounce back after a rough first season in the SEC. Brent Venables went out and added quarterback John Mateer and standout running back Jadyn Ott, giving the Sooners a big shot in the arm offensively.

Oklahoma is a sneaky pick to contend in the SEC, assuming Mateer can elevate the offense in a big way. Coming to Knoxville to kick off November, both sides could be in thick of the CFP race. This could potentially be an early elimination game for both sides, or a moment to make a big statement to the committee.