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Tennessee

The Athletic ranks Tennessee Football's biggest rivalries, top 100 rivalries in college football

IMG_3593by:Grant Ramey•07/10/25•

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Dylan Sampson, Tennessee Football | Randy Sartin-Imagn Images
(Randy Sartin-Imagn Images) Oct 19, 2024; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; Tennessee Volunteers running back Dylan Sampson (6) runs for a touchdown against the Alabama Crimson Tide during the second half at Neyland Stadium.

Five of the top 80 rivalries in college football involve Tennessee, according to The Athletic, which recently ranked the top 100 rivalries in the sport. The Vols had their rivalries with Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky and Vanderbilt all ranked on the list. 

Tennessee Third Saturday in October rivalry with Alabama was ranked the highest at No. 11 overall. Michigan-Ohio State was ranked No. 1, ahead of Auburn-Alabama, Oklahoma-Texas, Army-Navy and USC-Notre Dame in the top five.

Rounding out the top 10 was Nebraska-Oklahoma at No. 6, then Florida State-Miami, Ohio State-Penn State, Florida-Florida State and Minnesota-Wisconsin.

Tennessee-Florida was ranked No. 36, Tennessee-Georgia was ranked No. 53, Tennessee-Kentucky was ranked No. 75 and Tennessee-Vanderbilt was ranked No. 80.

A closer look at Tennessee’s rivalries

Tennessee-Kentucky is the most played rivalry for the Vols, with 120 meetings dating back to 1893. Vanderbilt is the oldest series, with 119 games dating back to 1892. 

Tennessee has played Florida and Georgia 54 times each, with the Georgia series dating back to 1899 and the Florida series dating back to 1916. 

Tennessee-Alabama  has been played 106 times dating back to 1901.

Tennessee is 81-33-5 against Vanderbilt, including a 36-6 record since 1983. The Vols 85-26-9 against Kentucky and have won 37 of the last 40 against the Wildcats. 

Tennessee won 26 straight against Kentucky between 1985 and 2010 and 22 straight against Vandy between 1983 and 2004. 

Alabama leads the Third Saturday in October series at 59-40-7, but the Vols have won two of the last three. Florida leads the Tennessee series 33-22 and Georgia is the closest rivalry in terms of record, leading the Vols 29-23-2 after winning 13 of the last 15.

Tennessee opens 2025 season against Syracuse in Atlanta

Tennessee opens the season on August 30 in Atlanta against Syracuse. It’s a Noon Eastern Time start on ABC at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The Vols host ETSU in the home opener at Neyland Stadium on September 6 (3:30 p.m. ET, SEC Network+/ESPN+) and SEC play starts at home against Georgia on September 13 (3:30 p.m. ET, ABC).

UAB comes to Knoxville on September 20 (12:45 p.m. ET, SEC Network) and the Vols go to Mississippi State on September 27 in the first SEC road game of the season. After an open date on October 4, the Vols host Arkansas (October 11) then go to Alabama (October 18) and Kentucky (October 25). 

In November the Vols host Oklahoma (November 1) and New Mexico State (November 15), go to Florida (November 22) and close the regular-season schedule at home against Vanderbilt (November 29).

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