On3 has two Tennessee games ranked in the SEC's Top 10 for 2024

Two of the 10 biggest SEC games this season involve Tennessee, according to a ranking from On3. Tennessee’s game at Oklahoma came in at No. 4 on the list while the home date with Alabama was ranked No. 9. 

Georgia at Alabama on September 28 topped the list, ahead of Texas at Texas A&M on November 30 and Georgia at Texas on October 19 in the top three. 

Alabama at LSU on November 9 was No. 5 and Ole Miss at LSU on October 12 was No. 6. Missouri at Alabama on October 26 was No. 7, Texas vs. Oklahoma on October 12 was No. 8 and Georgia at Ole Miss on November 9 was No. 10.

Vols go to Oklahoma for Sooners’ first SEC game

Tennessee goes to Oklahoma on September 21, with Josh Heupel going back to Norman in the Sooners’ first game as an SEC team. 

“This is a matchup ripe with storyline and intrigue. It’s Oklahoma’s SEC debut,” On3’s Jesse Simonton wrote. “It’s former 5-star Nico Iamaleava’s first-career road start. It’s Iamaleava vs. Jackson Arnold … the game also centers around the return to Norman for Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel, who has a complicated relationship with his alma mater despite winning a national title with the Sooners. 

“The Vols and Sooners are two programs with CFP hopes in 2024. With a pair of inexperienced quarterbacks in a spotlight game, this could come down to which pass rush can dominate the other team’s offensive line. Led by James Pearce, Tennessee had 41 sacks in 2023 (No. 8 nationally), while OU reloaded at edge via the transfer portal this offseason.”

Alabama comes back to Tennessee on October 19 at Neyland Stadium, where the Vols won 52-49 in 2022. Tennessee led 20-7 at halftime at Alabama last season, before the Crimson Tide rallied in the second half for a 34-20 win. 

“This was the Game of the Year in 2022, and while the Third Saturday in October will be a bit overshadowed by Georgia at Texas, the Tide vs. the Vols is still a game that carries serious implications,” Simonton wrote.

“By midseason, has Nico Iamaleava settled in as Tennessee’s quarterback? Has the Tide’s retooled defense coalesced into a Top 10 unit again? Is Jalen Milroe a Heisman Trophy contender operating DeBoer’s scheme — or just another guy and possibly in danger of losing his job to Ty Simpson? This rivalry game should provide a lot of answers about how the second half of the season might play out for both teams.” 

Kickoff times, kickoff windows for Tennessee this season 

Kickoff times and TV information for four Tennessee games this season have been announced, while kickoff windows are set for the other eight.

The season-opener against Chattanooga on August 31 will be a 12:45 p.m. Eastern Time start, the N.C. State game on September 7 in Charlotte is set for 7:30 p.m. ET, Kent State on September 14 will kick at 7:45 p.m. ET and the UTEP game on November 23 will be a 1 p.m. ET start.

The Chattanooga and Kent State games will be televised by SEC Network, the N.C. State game will be on ABC and UTEP will be an ESPN+/SEC Network+ streaming game.

The SEC and ESPN last week announced kickoff windows — early, afternoon, night or flex — across the league. Early games will start between Noon and 1 p.m. Afternoon games are between 3:30 and 4:30 p.m. and night games will be between 6 and 8 p.m. Flex games could fall between 3:30-4:30 or 6-8.

Tennessee’s flex games include Oklahoma (September 21), Arkansas (September 28), Florida (October 5) and Alabama (October 12). Night games will be Kentucky (November 2) and Mississippi State (November 9) and the Vanderbilt game on November 30 will be in the early window.