Tennessee Volunteers
| Tennessee Volunteers | |
|---|---|
 | |
| First season | 2013 |
| Head coach | TazerMan 4th season, 26–9 (.743) |
| Stadium | Neyland Stadium (Capacity: 102,455) |
| Year built | 1921 |
| Field surface | Grass |
| Location | Knoxville, TN |
| League | NCAA |
| Division | East |
| All-time record | 82–49 (.626) |
| Bowl record | 3–6 (.333) |
| Playoff appearances | 2 |
| Playoff record | 1 |
| Conference titles | 1 |
| Division titles | 3 |
| Consensus All-Americans | 2 |
| Colors | Orange, White, and Smokey Gray |
| Fight song | Down the Field (official) Rocky Top (unofficial) |
| Mascot | Smokey X |
| Rivals | Alabama Florida Georgia Vanderbilt |
The University of Tennessee Volunteers, coached by TazerMan, are a collegiate football team playing in SEC. The Volunteers play in Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee, and are a member of the East division.
Contents
History
HaiThere era (2013-2014)
2013 Season
The Tennessee Volunteers began play in the 2013 CFBHC Season. The team began initially coachless, with SS Larry Reeves taking on the position of interim coach. They won their first game, then went through an extremely rough patch. After losing game after game, a change had to be made. In week 7, HaiThere took over the team. With a real coach at the forefront, the Volunteers turned their season around winning 5 straight to finish the season and achieving a bowl bid. There, they lost to Arizona State, but the future was on the up and up for the Vols.
2014 Season
The 2014 season was difficult for the Tennessee Volunteers as they had another year in which they faced off against top teams. The Vols finished 5-7 losing to Kentucky 14-13 in the last week to make them ineligible for a bowl game. However, the Vols did have success in recruiting, with coach HaiThere building a top 5 recruiting class. Unfortunately, due to the scandal that came to be known as "IP Gate", HaiThere was let go at the end of the season, and a search began for a new head coach.
LDYo era (2015-2016)
2015 Season
The 2015 season saw personnel changes at Tennessee, coach HaiThere had stepped down from the head coaching position and LDYo was hired to take over. The appointment was a slight shock as the Indiana coach had relatively little experience, however the new coach played many good opponents close in the 2014 season with the Hoosiers and was deemed a good candidate. LDYo quickly became a hit, as this Volunteer team played better than anyone had ever expected. The Vols went on to go 10-2, only losing to Florida and Kentucky. They also made their second ever bowl game appearance, a TaxSlayer.com Gator Bowl defeat against Michigan. For the first time ever, Tennessee ended the season ranked. Most impressively of all, LDYo managed to lock down the #1 position on the nationwide recruiting rankings
2016 Season
In 2016, the Vols had a down year. LDYo's team struggled down the stretch against good SEC opponents, and a rivalry week loss to Vanderbilt knocked this squad out of bowl contention. Not only that, Tennessee ended with the #100 recruiting class in the nation, which was a severe let down after their former #1 rated class. At the end of the season, LDYo resigned from the position, and former Nevada head coach SageBow was brought in to be the third coach in the history of the Volunteers.
SageBow Era (2017-present)
2017 Season
Once again with a new head coach, the Tennessee Volunteers roared to life. SageBow led this team to 5 straight wins to enter the season, but received their first loss against Kentucky. Two major wins against #4 Missouri and #8 Florida rocketed the Volunteers to #8, their highest rank in several years. Unfortunately, two straight defeats to #7 Georgia and #13 Mississippi State sent the Volunteers back to earth. For the third time in this program's history, Tennessee was bowl eligible.
2018 Season
The Vols were highly regarded at the beginning of the season, but a slow first month left them at 2-2. Tennessee quickly bounced back to rattle off 3 straight away wins, but were downed in a shootout against Matty Swift and Texas A&M. With a possibility of them dropping out of the Coaches Poll looming over their minds, Tennessee rattled off 4 straight victories in the final month to seal the SEC East Title. From there, they played a hard fought game against #1 Alabama, a game they were unable to win. They would receive an invitation to the 2018 Citrus Bowl, but were defeated by the Minnesota Golden Gophers.
2019 Season
The Vols began the season with a scintillating five game winning streak as they knocked off SEC East rivals Georgia and Kentucky on their way to tie their record high ranking, #6 in the nation. Against Auburn and the first start of freshman quarterback Marcus Black, the Vols faultered and were stunned in Jordan-Hare for their first loss of the season. They went on to win out the rest of their regular season games, claiming a SEC East Division title and an SEC Conference Championship against LSU.
The Vols were slotted in as the 4th seed of the playoffs and triumphed against Baylor in the Quarterfinals to set up a highly anticipated matchup against Penn State in the Fiesta Bowl. There, the Volunteers were sorely beaten, knocking them out of championship contention. Still, this amounted to the best campaign the Volunteers have ever had, and looked to put them on a bright path going forward.
2020 Season
After three seasons of Julius Thomas, 2020 would be the first quarterback change in the Vols history under SageBow. Adrian Goldson performed well, but the Vols limped out to a 1-2 start, including a humiliating loss to [USF]. After a team meeting, the Vols rattled off 6 straight wins, including victories over Alabama, Georgia, and Florida. The win was knocked out of this team's sails after Tucker Dowden and the Missouri Tigers beat the Vols in Columbia, then the Kentucky Wildcats stunned the Vols in Lexington after a poor performance from Goldson. The Vols ended the season with a big overtime victory against Vanderbilt, ending the season 2nd in the SEC East.
2021 Season
People were optimistic in Knoxville after a strong freshman year from Adrian Goldson, but the season didn't start in the best way with a loss in a 9-7 game against TCU. A loss to the Gators and then Maryland and Georgia were made worse by the weak play of Goldson, who was tasked with throwing the ball all around the yard, something he clearly wasn't up to. Alabama came next, and the Vol's turned things up a notch, winning 30-27. Shortly after this, long time coach SageBow stepped down, citing personal issues.
TazerMan Era (2021-present)
2021 Season
After SageBow stepped down, a search was started for a new coach to lead the Vols to glory once again. TazerMan, who had coached Kent State to their first bowl and a 6-7 record and an 0-5 record in 2021, was hired. The team picked up, getting a comfortable win against FAU. This was followed by a shift to a more balanced offense, which payed dividends, as Tennessee went on to upset then #6 South Carolina and #2 Auburn, finishing the season at 7-5 and 5-3 in the SEC. This was followed by a close bowl loss to Notre Dame.
2022 Season
Coming into Adrian Goldson's Junior year and his second year under TazerMan expectations were rising in Knoxville, ranked just outside the Top 25 and projected as the number 22 team by the Chicago Tribune. The season started poorly with a demolition at the hands of Nebraska, and at Week 11 the Vols sat at 4-4 with 2 losses in conference play, with a 14-10 loss to Georgia essentially eliminating the hopes of a Championship game appearance. The Vols rebounded, going on a 4 game win streak to close the regular season at 8-4 (6-2). They were invited to play in the Orange Bowl, and beat Duke to take their 3rd ever bowl victory, and finished ranked #24.
2023 Season
Year 3 of the TazerMan era was the most successful yet, going 11-1 in the regular season with their only loss being to the Georgia Bulldogs by 3 points. They then played the LSU Tigers in the SEC Championship Game and the Fiesta Bowl Quarterfinal, losing both games. This was the second most successful season in program history, led by one of the best defenses in the country and an efficient offense headed by redshirt Senior Adrian Goldson.
All-time record vs. SEC opponents
This is the Vols' football record against current Southeastern Conference opponents through the 2023 season.
| School | Total Games | W | L | T | Pct. | PF | PA | First Year | Last Year | Streak |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 7 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0.571 | 133 | 144 | 2014 | 2023 | W1 |
| Arkansas | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 45 | 21 | 2023 | 2023 | W1 |
| Auburn | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0.667 | 60 | 75 | 2013 | 2021 | W1 |
| Florida | 11 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0.545 | 232 | 239 | 2013 | 2023 | W2 |
| Georgia | 11 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 0.364 | 182 | 202 | 2013 | 2023 | L3 |
| Kentucky | 10 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0.500 | 244 | 210 | 2014 | 2023 | W3 |
| LSU | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0.200 | 77 | 97 | 2016 | 2023 | L3 |
| Mississippi State | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0.500 | 45 | 51 | 2017 | 2022 | W1 |
| Missouri | 11 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 0.636 | 271 | 289 | 2013 | 2023 | W2 |
| Ole Miss | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 11 | 8 | 2013 | 2013 | W1 |
| South Carolina | 11 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 321 | 157 | 2013 | 2023 | W11 |
| Texas A&M | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.000 | 42 | 52 | 2018 | 2018 | L1 |
| Vanderbilt | 11 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0.917 | 287 | 157 | 2013 | 2023 | W7 |
| 13 Opponents | 85 | 53 | 32 | 0 | 0.624 | 1950 | 1702 | 11 Seasons |
Season-by-Season Records
| Coach(es) | Year | Conference | Overall Record | Conference Record | Bowl | Final CP Ranking | ||
| Wins | Losses | Wins | Losses | |||||
| Tennessee Volunteers | ||||||||
| Vacant | 2013 | SEC | 1 | 6 | 0 | 2 | Meineke Car Care Texas Bowl vs Arizona State (17–28) | - |
| HaiThere | 5 | 1 | 5 | 0 | ||||
| 2014 | 5 | 7 | 3 | 4 | - | - | ||
| LDYo | 2015 | 10 | 3 | 5 | 2 | TaxSlayer.com Gator Bowl vs Michigan (14-23) | 21 | |
| 2016 | 5 | 7 | 1 | 6 | - | - | ||
| SageBow | 2017 | 10 | 3 | 4 | 3 | Weis Markets Bowl vs Pittsburgh (31-10) | 15 | |
| 2018 | 9 | 5 | 5 | 3 | Citrus Bowl vs Minnesota (17-31) | 20 | ||
| 2019 | 13 | 2 | 7 | 1 | Quarterfinal vs Baylor (34-14) Fiesta Bowl vs Penn State (13-35) |
3 | ||
| 2020 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 3 | Citrus Bowl vs Michigan State (25-28) | - | ||
| 2021 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 2 | Music City Bowl vs Notre Dame (20-23) | - | ||
| TazerMan | 6 | 2 | 4 | 1 | ||||
| 2022 | 9 | 4 | 6 | 2 | Orange Bowl vs Duke Blue Devils (28-7) | 24 | ||
| 2023 | 11 | 3 | 7 | 3 | Fiesta Bowl vs LSU Tigers (13-24) | #6 | ||
| Total Games: 145 | 93 | 52 | 53 | 32 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| National Champions | Conference Champions | Bowl game berth |
Bowl History
Tennessee has appeared in ten bowl games in its history, posting a record of 3-7
| Season | Bowl | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Meineke Car Care Texas Bowl | Arizona State | L, 17–28 |
| 2015 | TaxSlayer.com Gator Bowl | Michigan | L, 14-23 |
| 2017 | Weis Markets Bowl | Pittsburgh | W, 31-10 |
| 2018 | Citrus Bowl | Minnesota | L, 17-31 |
| 2019 | Quarterfinals | Baylor | W, 34-14 |
| 2019 | Semifinals | Penn State | L, 13-35 |
| 2020 | Citrus Bowl | Michigan State | L, 25-28 |
| 2021 | Music City Bowl | Notre Dame | L, 20-23 |
| 2022 | Orange Bowl | Duke | W, 28-7 |
| 2023 | Fiesta Bowl | LSU | L, 13-24 |
| Total | 10 Bowl Games | 3-7 | - |
History and Awards
Head Coaches
Players
All-Americans
- 2017
- 2021
All-SEC Players
|
|
