Tennessee Football ranked No. 19 in ESPN's Way-Too-Early Top 25
Tennessee Football came in at No. 19 in ESPN’s Way-Too-Early Top 25 Monday night, released after Ohio State beat Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game. The Vols were the seventh highest-ranked SEC team.
Ohio State was ranked No. 1, ahead of No. 2 Texas, No. 3 Penn State, No. 4 Notre Dame and No. 5 Georgia.
Alabama was ranked No. 12 and Florida was No. 18, one spot ahead of the Vols. LSU as ranked No. 8, South Carolina was ranked No. 10, Texas A&M was No. 22 and Ole Miss was No. 25.
‘It wouldn’t be surprising to see UT take a step back in 2025’
“After winning nine games or more for the third straight season and reaching the CFP,” ESPN’s Mark Schlabach wrote, “Josh Heupel has some work to do this offseason, especially on offense. It wouldn’t be surprising to see UT take a step back in 2025.
“The Volunteers are losing (Dylan) Sampson, the SEC’s leading rusher with 1,491 yards and 22 touchdowns, and their top three receivers [Bru McCoy and Dont’e Thornton exhausted their eligibility, and (Squirrel) White entered the transfer portal]. Three starting offensive linemen will also have to be replaced.”
ESPN listed quarterback Nico Iamaleava, wide receiver Mike Matthews, running back Peyton Lewis, linebacker Arion Carter, cornerback Jermod McCoy, cornerback Rickey Gibson III and linebacker Jeremiah Telander as Tennessee’s key returning players.
The key losses were running back Dylan Sampson, defensive end James Pearce, wide receiver Squirrel White, wide receiver Bru McCoy, wide receiver Dont’e Thornton, center Cooper Mays, offensive tackle John Campbell and offensive guard Javontez Spraggins.
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“The Vols added former Arizona guard Wendell Moe Jr. and five-star tackle prospect David Sanders,” Schlabach wrote. “There’s a solid nucleus coming back on defense, but Tennessee will miss Pearce’s production on the edge. The Volunteers will open the season against Syracuse in Atlanta, and they’ll play Georgia at home and Alabama and Florida on the road.”
A closer look at Tennessee’s 2025 schedule
Tennessee next season hosts Georgia at Neyland Stadium on September 13, goes to Alabama on October 18 and goes to Florida on November 22.
The Vols go to Mississippi State on September 27 in the first road SEC game. Tennessee comes back home to face Arkansas on October 11, goes to Kentucky on October 25 and closes the regular-season schedule at home against Vanderbilt on November 29.
The schedule starts with the neutral-site game against Syracuse in the Aflac Kickoff Game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. Tennessee hosts ETSU in its home opener on September 6 at Neyland Stadium, hosts UAB on September 20 and New Mexico State on November 15.
