How Tennessee Football has performed after bye weeks under Josh Heupel
Tennessee Football had its first open date of the season on Saturday. The Vols now turn their attention to Arkansas and Saturday night’s 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time start (TV: ABC) in Fayetteville at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium.
Tennessee is 3-for-3 coming off open dates during the Josh Heupel era. The Vols beat Texas A&M last season and beat a pair of ranked teams on the road at LSU in 2022 and Kentucky in 2021.
The new-look SEC schedule now includes two open dates, with Tennessee also open on October 26. Here’s how the Vols have performed under Heupel coming off open dates:
2023: Tennessee 20, Texas A&M 13
Dee Williams took a punt back 39 yards for a touchdown with 6:47 left in the third quarter, putting No. 19 Tennessee ahead for the first time and ahead for good in the 20-13 win.
Charles Campbell kicked field goals of 24 and 31 yards in the fourth quarter and Jacob Warren caught a 7-yard touchdown in the first quarter.
Joe Milton III completed 11 of 22 passes for 100 yards, a touchdown and an interception and the Vols rushed 49 times as a team for 232 yards. Jaylen Wright led the ground game, going for 136 yards on 19 carries.
Tennessee’s defense gave up just 277 total yards and forced two turnovers in the win. The 20 points were the fewest in a win during Josh Heupel’s head coaching career.
“Dee’s punt return changed the game,” Heupel said after the game. “We had 10 guys competing their butts off to get him into the end zone. It was a huge turning point.”
2022: No. 8 Tennessee 40, No. 25 LSU 13
Will Brooks recovered a fumble on the opening kickoff and the rout was on for No. 8 Tennessee in a 40-13 win over No. 25 LSU at a sleepy Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge.
The 11 a.m. Central Time kickoff was kickstarted by the turnover, with the Vols cashing in five plays later with a Jabari Small 1-yard touchdown run. It was 20-0 in the opening minute of the second quarter, after Jalin Hyatt hauled in a 45-yard touchdown from Hendon Hooker, and Tennessee’s lead was 37-7 by the end of the third.
Hooker threw for 239 yards and two touchdowns and Tennessee rushed 49 times for 263 yards and two touchdowns as a team, led by 127 yards on 22 carries from Small, who scored both rushing touchdowns.
The Vols improved to a perfect 5-0 with the win, on the way to an 8-0 start and a No. 1 ranking in the first College Football Playoff ranking of the 2022 season. Tennessee would finish the year 11-2 with a win over Clemson in the Orange Bowl.
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“We have found a way to be the best team on the field the last five weeks,” Heupel said after the win at LSU. “Our players have worked hard and more importantly expect to play very well. They expect to win.”
2021: Tennessee 45, No. 18 Kentucky 42
Hendon Hooker completed 15 of 20 passes for 316 yards and four touchdowns and rushed 11 times for 41 yards to lead Tennessee to the 45-42 road win over the 18th-ranked Kentucky Wildcats at Kroger Field in Lexington.
It was Tennessee’s defense that created the necessary separation in the second half, with Alontae Taylor taking an interception back 56 yards for a touchdown for a 38-28 lead in the third quarter.
Hooker threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to Cedric Tillman early in the fourth quarter to get the lead back to 10 at 45-35.
The Vols led 24-21 at halftime after Chase McGrath kicked a 43-yard field goal as time expired on the second quarter. Hooker threw a 75-yard touchdown to JaVonta Payton on the first play of the game, then added a 72-yard touchdown pass to Velus Jones Jr. later in the first quarter.
Jacob Warren caught an 18-yard touchdown pass with 1:14 left in the second quarter and Jabari Small ran 37 yards for a touchdown early in the third quarter.
Tennessee’s 45 points were scored despite the Vols possessing the ball for just 13 minutes, 52 seconds. Kentucky’s time of possession was 46:08.
“We scored extremely quickly on some big plays and even when we didn’t, we move the ball down into plus-red zone territory and end up fumbling,” Heupel said afterward. “It’s just really unique how the game really unfolded.”
