Where Tennessee Football's opponents are ranked in the Preseason Coaches Poll
Tennessee Football came in at No. 15 in the US LBM Preseason Coaches Poll on Monday, the first preseason Top 25 to be released for the 2024 season. The Vols were seventh among the nine SEC teams in the ranking.
Four opponents on Tennessee’s 2024 schedule were ranked, including two in the top five, with Georgia coming in at No. 1 and Alabama at No. 5.
The Vols started at No. 10 in the Preseason Coaches Poll a year ago, moved up to No. 9 in September and finished at No. 17 after the 35-0 win over Iowa in the Citrus Bowl on New Year’s Day capped a 9-4 season.
Here’s a closer look at where Tennessee’s opponents were ranked, or how many votes were received among unranked opponents:
No. 1 Georgia
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
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. 16 Oklahoma
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. 22 North Carolina State
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.
Others Receiving Votes
Kentucky (12): 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.
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Florida (11): 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.
Tennessee Football’s 2024 Schedule
Tennessee opens the season against Chattanooga on August 31 (12:45 p.m. Eastern Time, TV: SEC Network) and faces North Carolina State on September 7 in Charlotte (7:30 p.m. ET, ABC),
After hosting Kent State on September 14, the Vols open SEC play with road games at Oklahoma (September 21) and at Arkansas (October 5).
The Sooners were the 10th team listed of the 30 from ESPN on Thursday and North Carolina State was No. 25.
Tennessee hosts Florida and Alabama back-to-back on October 12 and October 19, respectively, then has home games against Kentucky (November 2) and Mississippi State (November 9) before going to Georgia on November 16.
The regular season closes with the home finale against UTEP on November 23, then a trip to Vanderbilt on November 30.
