Tennessee Football will play the best team in college football next season and will also play the worst, according to ESPN’s Football Power Index. The opponents for the Vols in 2024 range from No. 1 Georgia all the way to No. 134 Kent State, the last-place team in the rankings.
Tennessee came in at No. 9 in the FPI with a projected record of 8.6-3.5. The metric gives the Vols a 36.9% chance to make the 12-team College Football Playoff, a 5.5% chance to win the SEC, a 6.0% chance to play for the national championship and a 2.7% chance to win a national title.
Here’s where Tennessee 11 FBS opponents are ranked in the FPI:
No. 1 Georgia
Projected Record 10.3-2.1 | Win SEC: 32.8% | Make Playoff: 79.1% | Make National Title Game: 31.6% | Win National Title: 21.0%
Georgia has won seven straight against Tennessee. The Vols won back-to-back games in the series in 2015 and 2016, winning 38-31 in Knoxville in 2015 and 34-31 in 2016, when Jauan Jennings hauled in the Hail Mary touchdown from Joshua Dobbs on the last play of the game.
No. 5 Alabama
Projected Record: 9.3-3.0 | Win SEC: 14.4% | Make Playoff: 57.2% | Make National Title Game: 15.3% | Win National Title: 8.5%
The 52-49 Tennessee in October 2022 at Neyland Stadium broke Alabama’s streak of 15 straight wins in the series. Tennessee won seven in a row between 1995 and 2001 and won 10 of 12 between 1995 and 2006.
No. 8 Oklahoma
Projected Record: 8.2-3.9 | Win SEC: 5.1% | Make Playoff: 36.6% | Make National Title Game: 6.0% | Win National Title: 2.8%
Oklahoma and Tennessee have met only four times, with Oklahoma winning the last three. Tennessee beat the Sooner 17-0 in the 1939 Orange Bowl, capping an 11-0 season. Oklahoma won 26-24 in the 1968 Orange Bowl, won 34-10 in Norman in 2014 and won 31-24 in overtime at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville in 2016.
No. 20 Florida
Projected Record 5.9-6.1 | Win SEC: 0.7% | Make Playoff: 8.3% | Make National Title Game: 0.7% | Win National Title: 0.3%
Tennessee lost a tough one in Gainesville last September, 29-16. Tennessee’s 38-33 win at Neyland Stadium the previous September snapped a five-game losing streak in the series.
No. 28 North Carolina State
Projected Record: 8.1-4.1 | Win ACC: 7.5% | Make Playoff: 13.9% | Make National Title Game: 1.0% | Win National Title: 0.3%
Tennessee is 2-1 against N.C. State. The Vols lost 16-0 in Raleigh in 1911, won 13-0 in Raleigh in 1939 and beat the Wolfpack 35-21 at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta in 2012.
No. 34 Kentucky
Projected Record: 6.0-6.0 | Win SEC: 0.2% | Make Playoff: 4.8% | Make National Title Game: 0.3% | Win National Title: 0.1%
Tennessee has won ten of its last 12 games against Kentucky, dating back to 2012, including the 33-27 win in Lexington in October. The Wildcats won at Neyland Stadium in 2020, their first win in Knoxville since 1984, and in Lexington in 2011 and 2017.
No. 44 Arkansas
Projected Record: 5.5-6.5 | Win SEC: 0.1% | Make Playoff: 2.6% | Make National Title Game: 0.1% | Win National Title: 0.0%
Tennessee and Arkansas have played only 19 times dating back to 1907, with Tennessee winning 13 times. Arkansas has won three straight and four of the last five going back to 2006.
No. 49 Mississippi State
Projected Record: 5.1-6.9 | Win SEC: 0.0% | Make Playoff: 1.7% | Make National Title Game: 0.1% | Win National Title: 0.0%
Tennessee is 29-16-1 in the all-time series against Mississippi State, dating back to 1907. The Vols have won 10 of the last 12, including a 20-10 win at Neyland Stadium in 2019.
No. 76 Vanderbilt
Projected Record: 4.0-8.0 | Win SEC: 0.3% | Make Playoff: 0.3% | Make National Title Game: 0.0% | Win National Title: 0.0%
Tennessee has won five straight in the series after Vanderbilt had a run of five wins in seven years between 2012 and 2018. The Vols won 22 straight between 1983 and 2004.
No. 111 UTEP
Projected Record: 5.9-6.4 | Win CUSA: 11.9% | Make Playoff: 0.7%| Make National Title Game: 0.0% | Win National Title: 0.0%
Tennessee is 3-0 against UTEP in a series that dates back to 1986, with the two most recent games being shutout wins. The Vols won 24-0 in 2018, 56-0 in 1990 and 26-16 in 1986.
No. 134 Kent State
Projected Record: 3.3-8.8 | Win MAC: 0.6% | Make Playoff: 0.0% | Make National Title Game 0.0% | Win National Title: 0.0%
Tennessee has never played Kent State in football. The Golden Flashes went just 1-11 this season, with the lone win coming at home against Central Connecticut State in September.
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