Tennessee football is about to enter a new era. Josh Heupel and the new-look Vols are in full rebuild mode following a season that saw an underwhelming 3-7 record, pieces lost to the transfer portal and an internal investigation that led to Tennessee’s fifth coaching search in 15 years.
The Vols’ 12-game schedule features teams from a myriad of backgrounds — some similar to the likes of Tennessee and some that have distanced themselves entirely.
Let’s take a look at the Vols’ 2021 opponents.
Bowling Green – Sept. 2
Tennessee’s first opponent of the Josh Heupel era will be the Bowling Green State (BGSU) Falcons, a non-conference opponent from the Mid-American Conference (MAC).
‘Rebuild’ doesn’t adequately describe the status of the Falcons program this season. The Falcons posted double-digit losses in all five match-ups last season, the closest of which was a 17-42 loss against Buffalo. Now, third-year head coach Scott Loeffler is looking to lead a young group back into the limelight of MAC relevance once more.
BGSU is known as an all-time great program in MAC history, sitting at second behind only Miami (OH) in conference championships with nine. 2015 was the last instance of this and also serves as their last season with a winning record.
Pitt – Sept. 11
Pitt’s slot on the schedule provides the toughest non-conference opponent the Vols will play this season. The Panthers of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) are looking to build off a 6-5 campaign last season under seventh year head coach Pat Narduzzi.
The Sept. 11 matchup against the Panthers will be a special one for both programs. Legendary Pitt player alumni and Tennessee head coach Johnny Majors will be honored at the game, which has officially been dubbed the “Johnny Majors Classic.”
Pitt is a good opponent for a rebuilding Tennessee team to gauge where it is at, as well as an opportunity for the Vols to ease into a brutal Southeastern Conference (SEC) slate as the season progresses.
Tennessee Tech – Sept. 18
Tennessee Tech is looking for its first winning season since 2011, when the Golden Eagles lost to Central Arkansas in their first and only Football Champion Subdivision (FCS) playoffs appearance.
The Vols’ Sept. 18 matchup welcomes an opponent to Neyland Stadium for the third consecutive week to start the season. Tennessee Tech’s last meeting with the Vols took place in 2016 — a matchup that ended in a 55-0 Tennessee rout. This year, the Golden Eagles will hop on I-40 and head east with hopes of a more competitive contest.
Tennessee at Florida – Sept. 25
No matter the atmosphere surrounding the start of a Tennessee football season, fans often request just one thing of the team: “As long as they beat Florida, we’ll be happy.”
If you follow Tennessee football, you’d know victories against the Gators have been few and far between for the better part of a couple decades. The last win against Florida came under the jurisdiction of a Butch Jones-led 2016 squad that featured Joshua Dobbs, Alvin Kamara and Derek Barnett, to name a few. Those Vols, at one point, were ranked inside the top 10.
This year’s Vols share little in common with that team. Tennessee’s first road game of the year is an important one for Heupel and a young team searching for an identity.
Tennessee at Missouri – Oct. 2
Tennessee enters week five looking to extend a two-game win streak against Missouri, a team that boasts a 5-4 advantage over the Vols all-time. The Tigers are led by second-year head coach Eli Drinkwitz, the mastermind behind an Appalachian State team that finished 19th in the final AP poll of 2019.
The Tigers look to rally behind starting quarterback Connor Bazelak. The redshirt sophomore threw for seven touchdowns last season, but could be in for some struggle without the services of last season’s top receivers, Damon Hazelton and Jalen Knox.
The Tigers and Vols are similar in a lot of ways — both were affected by the transfer portal and both are looking to improve upon an underwhelming previous season.
South Carolina – Oct. 9
If Tennessee is rebuilding, South Carolina is still in the process of tearing everything down. The Gamecocks will be without Ryan Hilinski and Collin Hill, their two best passers from last season. Not to mention the eventual quarterback will have to work without All-SEC wideout Shi Smith, who was drafted by the Carolina Panthers in this year’s NFL draft.
Shane Beamer will take over for the Gamecocks with a head coaching record of 0-0 to start the 2021 campaign. Beamer and Heupel are two of the SEC’s four head coaches in their first season with their program.
Ole Miss – Oct. 16
This won’t be the hardest, most meaningful game on the Vols’ schedule, but it very well could be their most satisfying potential win. This mid-October matchup marks the return of Lane Kiffin to Knoxville, some 12 years after his one-year stint at the helm of UT.
A small percentage of Volunteer fans — maybe the most desperate ones — hoped Kiffin’s return to Knoxville would be as their head coach. Instead, he brings with him a solid Ole Miss team that just missed out on the AP top-25 preseason poll.
In his first season at Ole Miss, Kiffin led the Rebels to a 5-5 record and an Outback Bowl win, capping their first non-losing season since 2017. Kiffin’s Rebels implemented a new offensive system in the spring that should play more to their strengths, a deep running back room and several versatile weapons at receiver.
Tennessee at Alabama – Oct. 23
Do I really need to write anything here? It’s Tennessee. At Alabama. It’s almost poetic that this meeting is scheduled for 15 years and two days since the last time Tennessee beat Alabama. That’s just short of 5,500 days. And, the last time the Vols won in Tuscaloosa was another three years before that. History is not on the Vols’ side.
Alabama has dominated this series over the better part of two decades because, simply put, its been the best team in college football. The Tide has probably the best college coach to ever do it in Nick Saban, who is going to be around through the 2028 season. They have a quarterback prospect in Bryce Young who has reportedly earned nearly $1 million in Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) deals before starting a single game. Alabama is the preseason No. 1 and are the heavy favorites for national champions. Don’t forget they won it last year too.
Tennessee at Kentucky – Nov. 6
This might be the turning point of Tennessee’s season. Eight games into the schedule, the Vols will get some relief in the form of a bye week after traveling to Tuscaloosa, before another road trip — this one to Lexington.
Kentucky is by no means among the elite of the SEC, but it can definitely give Tennessee a run for its money, considering the humiliating 34-7 loss the Vols suffered at the hands of the Wildcats last year.
Kentucky’s offense line looks to be one of the best in the conference, paving the way for star running back Chris Rodriguez Jr., receiver transfer Wan’Dale Robinson and recently-appointed starting quarterback Will Levis to thrive in an explosive offense that will challenge SEC defenses.
Georgia – Nov. 13
Tennessee will host Kirby Smart and the Bulldogs in its penultimate SEC game, as its gauntlet of a conference schedule winds down. This could be a proving game for the Vols, should they still be in the hunt this late in the year. Or, Georgia has the chance to effectively drive the final nail in Tennessee’s season. The Bulldogs did essentially that in the Vols’ third game last year.
Second-year quarterback JT Daniels has taken strides with this offense, but injuries to several of the Bulldog’s biggest contributors have halted the progress, as starters such as Darnell Washington and Tykee Smith are out. Whether the injury bug is still plaguing Georgia in November when it matters to the Vols remains to be seen.
South Alabama – Nov. 20
Finally, a breather for the Vols. The Jaguars have spent all of nine seasons in the Sun Belt Conference and have yet to finish with a winning record. They won just four games last season under Steve Campbell, who has to be in the hot seat after totaling only nine wins across three seasons.
The Jaguars are returning their top passer Desmond Trotter, who threw for 1,917 yards and 11 touchdowns in 2020. Their only other real offensive weapon from a year ago, Carlos Davis, was suspended and entered the transfer portal. This one should be a lock for the Vols.
Vanderbilt – Nov. 27
There are no givens in college football, especially with the way Tennessee tends to play down to competition against Vanderbilt, but Tennessee should end its regular season with a win. Vandy did not win a single time in 2020 and has won just one conference game since the start of 2019.
The Commodores have a new head coach in Clark Lea who quite literally can do no worse than his predecessor, Derek Mason, did a year ago. Vanderbilt scored 14.8 points per game in 2020 (126th of 128) while allowing 37.3 (113th of 128).
