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2016 Tennessee Volunteers football
Music City Bowl champion
Music City Bowl, W 38–24 vs. Nebraska
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Division	Eastern Division
Ranking
Coaches	No. 24
AP	No. 22
2016 record	9–4 (4–4 SEC)
Head coach	Butch Jones (4th season)
Offensive coordinator	Mike DeBord (2nd season)
Defensive coordinator	Bob Shoop (1st season)
Home stadium	Neyland Stadium (Capacity: 102,455)
Seasons ← 2015 2017 →

The 2016 Tennessee Volunteers football team represented the University of Tennessee in the 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season. This was the program's 120th overall season, 83rd as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC), and 25th within the SEC Eastern Division. The Volunteers played their home games at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee and were led by fourth-year head coach Butch Jones. They finished the season 9–4, 4–4 in SEC play to finish in a three-way tie for second place in the Eastern Division. They were invited to the Music City Bowl where they defeated Nebraska.

Previous season

The 2015 Tennessee Volunteers football team started off their season with a 59–30 victory over the Bowling Green Falcons. They then took on the 19th-ranked Oklahoma Sooners at Neyland Stadium where they gave up 17 unanswered points and lost in double overtime 31–24. Following a 55–10 win over Western Carolina, Tennessee traveled down to Gainesville, Florida, blew a 13-point lead in the second half, failed to convert a walk-off field goal and lost to the Florida Gators 28–27 for the 11th consecutive season. The following week back home, the Vols fell to the Arkansas Razorbacks 24–20. Despite trailing by 21 points to #19 Georgia in the 2nd quarter, Tennessee rallied back to go ahead of the Bulldogs in the 3rd quarter, score the winning touchdown with less than six minutes in the game and prevented Georgia from reaching the end zone to score their first victory over their SEC East opponent since 2009. After a bye week, Tennessee traveled to Tuscaloosa, Alabama to take on bitter rivals Alabama. In a low scoring defensive battle, the eighth ranked Crimson Tide scored the winning touchdown drive with just over two minutes remaining in the contest and Tennessee fell 19–14. Evan Berry tied a school record for most kickoff return touchdowns in a single season in the Volunteers 52–21 beatdown of the Kentucky Wildcats. After allowing 21 unanswered points in the 3rd quarter against the South Carolina Gamecocks, Tennessee kicked a go-ahead field goal with ten minutes remaining in the contest. With less than a minute left in play, the Gamecocks had driven the ball to Tennessee's 13-yard line when Malik Foreman forced a fumble. It was recovered by Jalen Reeves-Maybin and Tennessee won the game 27–24. Despite a sluggish offensive performance, Tennessee's defense held North Texas to just 199 total yards in a 24–0 victory over the Mean Green and became bowl eligible, it was also their first time shutting out an FCS opponent since 2011. The following week, Tennessee beat eastern division opponent Missouri for the first time in a 19–8 victory in Missouri coach Gary Pinkel's final home game. Tennessee finished the regular season 8–4 with a 53–28 thrashing of in-state rival Vanderbilt. The Vols were invited to play in the 2016 Outback Bowl in Tampa, Florida against the Northwestern Wildcats of the Big Ten. Tennessee defeated the Wildcats 45–6, finishing their 2015 season at 9–4.^[1]

Offseason

Departures

Departures of scholarship players from the 2015 team.

Winter months

During the early part of the offseason, a number of players and coaches left the program. Freshman quarterback Sherion Jones announced he was transferring from Tennessee to Colorado on January 7.^[8] He returned to Tennessee on January 27.^[9]John Jancek, a member of Butch Jones's coaching staff since his time with Central Michigan and Cincinnati, was relieved of his duties as defensive coordinator on January 6.^[10] Jones said that he and Jancek "had a long discussion this morning and we both came to the conclusion that it was best to part ways. I want to thank Coach Jancek for his contributions to the University of Tennessee football program the past three years. His hard work and dedication to this program played a major role in our back-to-back bowl wins. These decisions are never easy especially for someone I have worked with at three different schools."^[10] Penn State defensive coordinator Bob Shoop was hired for the same position at Tennessee on January 9.^[11]Larry Scott, who served as the interim head coach for the final six games of the Miami Hurricanes's 2015 season, was hired to be Tennessee's new tight ends coach on January 4.^[12]

Summer months

SEC Media Days

During Tennessee's turn at SEC Media Days in Hoover, Alabama, Coach Jones and the three attending players made it clear that they were there with the mindset of "business as usual" and not to create news or hype despite being the favorites to win the SEC East. Cameron Sutton responded to questions about Tennessee's game against Florida with how the team's season will "open up with Appalachian State, who was an 11-win team last year. We don't consider ourselves worried about games long down the road. It's one week at a time, one game at a time. That's our mindset right now. We're focused on Appalachian State." Hobbs responded to the hype around Tennessee as being "outside. Noise, really. You can't really control hype. You can't really control what other people say. What you can control is how you approach each day, how you focus on the details, how are you getting better as a player and how is the team getting better every single day you step on the field? We're focused on that — what we can control because we can't really do anything (about) what we can't control." Jones responded to questions about Tennessee blowing late leads against Oklahoma, Florida, Arkansas and Alabama by pointing out in "the last 18 games, we're 13-5. And the amazing thing, when you look at it of being 13-5 over the last 18 games, is those five losses have come by a combined total of 25 points. So what are we doing to take the next step as a football program? We talk about learning how to finish games, learning how to close games out. We talked about clutch plays, making critical plays at critical moments of the game."^[13]

On the final day of SEC Media Days, Tennessee received 225 of 331 first-place votes and were selected by the media as the favorite to win the SEC Eastern Division for the first time since 2005.^[14] However, the Vols were picked to lose to Alabama in the SEC Championship Game receiving 29 votes to the Crimson Tide's 223.^[15] "You want those expectations," Coach Jones said. "I think it's a compliment to everyone in our program of how far we've come. It's not where you start, it's where you finish. But I think it is a compliment in how we've grown and developed this football program."^[15]

Preseason camp

The Volunteers opened up preseason camp on August 1, 31 days prior to their kickoff against the Appalachian State Mountaineers.^[16] Among the biggest questions going into preseason camp for the Vols included the development of senior quarterback Joshua Dobbs,^[17] whom would start at left tackle,^[17] maintaining overall health,^[18] how new defensive coordinator Bob Shoop would work with a stacked defensive corp and if Tennessee can live up to the expectations surrounding the team.^[18]

After the first week of camp, the biggest issue facing the team – according to Coach Jones – was the consistency in the passing game.^[19] This was compounded by a young wide receiver group that showed speed, but had many dropped balls.^[20] Another issue was that no starters for either left or right tackle had been announced.^[19] Coach Jones said he's been pleased with the competition and talent level of those fighting for the positions, but that the roles are anyone's for the taking.^[21]Jalen Hurd, who's short of the school rushing record, said he's targeting Travis Henry's career rushing record of 3,078 yards.^[19] He believes "it's reachable and, you know, you can see it, I definitely want to do it. That's a goal of mine. But obviously the biggest goal for me is just to help get my team a national championship."^[22]

Personnel

Roster & staff

2016 Tennessee Volunteers football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class QB 2 Jarrett Guarantano Fr WR 3 Josh Malone Jr RB 4 John Kelly So RB 6 Alvin Kamara  Jr WR 7 Preston Williams So WR 8 Latrell Williams Fr WR 9 Marquez Callaway Fr WR 10 Tyler Byrd Fr QB 11 Joshua Dobbs Sr QB 12 Quinten Dormady So QB 13 Sheriron Jones So QB 14 Zac Jancek  Fr WR 15 Jauan Jennings So WR 17 Brandon Johnson Fr TE 18 Jason Croom  Sr WR 19 Jeff George  Jr WR 20 Vincent Perry  Fr WR 24 Michael Lacey  Fr WR 25 Josh Smith  Jr WR 26 Ben Powlas Fr RB 27 Carlin Files-Aime Fr WR 28 Will Martinez Jr RB 31 Jeremy Lewis Fr RB 35 Taeler Dowdy Fr RB 37 Jayson Sparks  Jr WR 38 Jaye Rochell  Sr RB 42 Chip Omer Fr TE 44 Jakob Johnson Jr OL 50 Venzell Boulware  Fr OL 51 Drew Richmond  Fr OL 55 Coleman Thomas Jr OL 57 Nathan Niehaus Fr OL 60 Austin Sanders  Jr OL 63 Brett Kendrick  Jr OL 64 Tommy Sprague Fr OL 66 Jack Jones So OL 68 Marcus Tatum Fr OL 69 Brian Garvey Fr OL 70 Ryan Johnson Fr OL 71 Dylan Wiesman  Sr OL 75 Jashon Robertson Jr OL 76 Chance Hall  So OL 78 Charles Mosley  So OL 79 Thomas Edwards  Jr TE 80 Eli Wolf  Fr TE 81 Austin Pope Fr TE 82 Ethan Wolf Jr TE 84 Devante Brooks Fr WR 85 Thomas Orradre  So TE 86 Andrew Craig Fr WR 87 Logan Fetzner  Jr	Defense Pos. # Name Class DL 1 Jonathan Kongbo  So DL 2 Shy Tuttle  So DB 3 Marquill Osborne Fr DL 4 LaTroy Lewis  Sr DL 5 Kyle Phillips So DB 7 RaShaan Gaulden  So DB 8 Justin Martin Jr DE 9 Derek Barnett Jr DB 10 D.J. Henderson Jr LB 11 Austin Smith So DB 12 Emmanuel Moseley Jr DB 13 Malik Foreman Sr LB 14 Quart'e Sapp So LB 17 Dillon Bates  So DB 18 Nigel Warrior Fr DL 19 Darrell Taylor  Fr LB 20 Cortez McDowell Jr LB 21 Jalen Reeves-Maybin (C)  Sr DB 22 Micah Abernathy So DB 23 Cameron Sutton (C) Sr DB 24 Todd Kelly Jr. Jr DB 26 Stephen Griffin So DB 28 Baylen Buchanan Fr DB 29 Evan Berry Jr DB 30 Devin Williams  Sr DB 33 MaLeik Gatewood  Fr LB 34 Darrin Kirkland Jr So LB 35 Daniel Bituli Fr LB 36 Gavin Bryant  So DL 39 Kendal Vickers  Jr DL 40 Dimarya Mixon Jr LB 41 Elliott Berry Jr LB 47 Landon Knoll  Fr LB 48 Ja'Quain Blakely Fr DE 50 Corey Vereen Sr LB 51 Kenny Bynum  Sr DL 52 Andrew Butcher  Fr LB 53 Colton Jumper Jr DL 55 Quay Picou So DL 90 Charles Folger  Sr DL 96 Joey Cave Fr DL 97 Paul Bain  So DL 98 Alexis Johnson  Jr DL 99 Kahlil Mckenzie So	Special teams Pos. # Name Class PK 25 Aaron Medley Jr H 31 Parker Henry  So P 36 Grayson Linde Fr H 39 Alex Jones  Fr PK 43 Laszlo Toser  Fr LS 46 Riley Lovingood  Fr LS 52 Elijah Medford  So LS 64 Logan Punch Fr P 93 Trevor Daniel  Jr PK 97 Jackson Morris Fr	Head coach Butch Jones - 4th year Coordinators/assistant coaches Mike DeBord (Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks Coach) - 2nd year Bob Shoop (Defensive Coordinator) - 1st year Willie Martinez (Assistant Head Coach/Defensive Backs Coach) - 4th year Steve Stripling (Associate Head Coach/Defensive Line Coach) - 4th year Zach Azzanni (Wide Receivers Coach/Passing Game Coordinator) - 4th year Robert Gillespie (Running Backs Coach/Recruiting Coordinator) - 4th year Don Mahoney (Offensive Line Coach) - 4th year Larry Scott (Tight Ends Coach/Special Teams Coordinator) - 1st year Tommy Thigpen (Linebackers Coach) - 4th year Michael Szerszen (Director of Strength and Conditioning) - 1st year Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster Last update: November 12, 2016

2016 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for 2016 recruits
Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Daniel Bituli LB	Nashville, TN	Nashville Christian School	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	228 lb (103 kg)	Jul 18, 2015
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Ja'Quain Blakely LB	Moultrie, GA	Colquitt County	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Aug 2, 2015
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Devante Brooks TE	Washington, DC	St. John's College	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	Jan 15, 2015
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Baylen Buchanan DB	Suwanee, GA	Peachtree Ridge	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)	187 lb (85 kg)	Jan 1, 2016
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Tyler Byrd ATH	Naples, FL	Naples	5 ft 11.5 in (1.82 m)	194 lb (88 kg)	Feb 2, 2016
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Marquez Callaway ATH	Warner Robins, GA	Warner Robins	6 ft 1.5 in (1.87 m)	177 lb (80 kg)	Jan 21, 2016
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Carlin Fils-Aime RB	Naples, FL	Naples	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	Jul 30, 2015
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Jeff George WR	Dodge City, KS	Dodge City C.C.	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Jun 6, 2015
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Jarrett Guarantano QB	Oradell, NJ	Bergen Catholic	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	188 lb (85 kg)	Apr 15, 2015
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Corey Henderson WR	Shreveport, LA	Memphis University School	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Mar 30, 2015
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
D.J. Henderson DB	Dodge City, KS	Dodge City C.C.	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Sep 17, 2015
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Alexis Johnson DT	Fort Scott, KS	Fort Scott C.C.	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Sep 17, 2015
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Brandon Johnson WR	Plantation, FL	American Heritage	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	Sep 2, 2015
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Ryan Johnson OL	Brentwood, TN	Brentwood Academy	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	275 lb (125 kg)	Jul 19, 2014
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Jonathan Kongbo DE	Surrey, BC, CA	Arizona Western C.C.	6 ft 5.5 in (1.97 m)	264 lb (120 kg)	Feb 3, 2016
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Nathan Niehaus OL	Cincinnati, OH	Colerain	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	255 lb (116 kg)	Jan 1, 2016
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Marquill Osborne DB	Charlotte, NC	Hough	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)	183 lb (83 kg)	Sep 6, 2014
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Austin Pope TE	Knoxville, TN	Christian Academy of Knoxville	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	218 lb (99 kg)	Jun 15, 2015
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Marcus Tatum OT	Daytona Beach, FL	Mainland	6 ft 6.5 in (1.99 m)	255 lb (116 kg)	Jan 11, 2016
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Nigel Warrior S	Suwanee, GA	Peachtree Ridge	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)	189 lb (86 kg)	Feb 3, 2016
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Latrell Williams WR	Lake City, FL	Columbia	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)	171 lb (78 kg)	Feb 3, 2016
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 17   Rivals: 14  247Sports: 14  ESPN: 16
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2016 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved February 3, 2016..mw-parser-output cite.citationfont-style:inherit.mw-parser-output .citation qquotes:"""""""'""'".mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registrationcolor:#555.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration spanborder-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/12px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output code.cs1-codecolor:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-errordisplay:none;font-size:100%.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-errorfont-size:100%.mw-parser-output .cs1-maintdisplay:none;color:#33aa33;margin-left:0.3em.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-formatfont-size:95%.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-leftpadding-left:0.2em.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-rightpadding-right:0.2em "2016 Tennessee Volunteers football team". 247sports.com. Retrieved February 3, 2016.

Returning starters

Nine players return on offense, eight on defense and two out of four on special teams specific positions.

Current depth chart

Schedule

Tennessee announced their 2016 football schedule on October 29, 2015. The 2016 schedule consists of 7 home games, 4 away games and 1 neutral site game in the regular season. The Vols will host SEC foes Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, and Missouri, and will travel to Georgia, South Carolina, Texas A&M, and Vanderbilt.^[25]

Tennessee opened the season at home for the third time in the last four seasons, when it played host to Appalachian State on September 3 in the first meeting between the two schools. The Volunteers then faced Virginia Tech in the "Battle at Bristol" at Bristol, Tennessee, on September 10 in front of the largest crowd in football history, over 156,000 fans at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Tennessee returns to Neyland Stadium for two home games, Ohio on September 17 and the Florida Gators on September 24. The Volunteers have faced the Gators to start the conference schedule 13 of the last 14 years. The first of two road games occurs at Georgia on October 1. Tennessee holds a 22–21–2 edge in the rivals' series, but is also seeking its first victory in Athens since 2006. On October 8, the Volunteers make their first-ever trip to College Station, Texas, to face Texas A&M. It will also be the first regular-season meeting between the schools. Tennessee is 2–0 all-time against the Aggies in post-season play. The Volunteers will also return to tradition this year with their annual November rivalry game against Kentucky on November 12, after last being played in October 2015.

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 1	7:30 p.m.	Appalachian State*	No. 9	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN	SECN	W 20–13 OT	100,074
September 10	8:00 p.m.	vs. Virginia Tech*	No. 17	Bristol Motor Speedway Bristol, TN (Battle at Bristol)	ABC	W 45–24	156,990‡
September 17	Noon	Ohio*	No. 15	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN	SECN	W 28–19	101,362
September 24	3:30 p.m.	No. 19 Florida	No. 14	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN (rivalry)	CBS	W 38–28	102,455
October 1	3:30 p.m.	at No. 25 Georgia	No. 11	Sanford Stadium Athens, GA (rivalry)	CBS	W 34–31	92,746
October 8	3:30 p.m.	at No. 8 Texas A&M	No. 9	Kyle Field College Station, TX	CBS	L 38–45 2OT	106,248
October 15	3:30 p.m.	No. 1 Alabama	No. 9	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN (Third Saturday in October)	CBS	L 10–49	102,455
October 29	7:15 p.m.	at South Carolina	No. 18	Williams-Brice Stadium Columbia, SC	ESPN2	L 21–24	78,696
November 5	4:00 p.m.	Tennessee Tech*		Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN	SECN	W 55–0	98,343
November 12	Noon	Kentucky		Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN (rivalry)	SECN	W 49–36	101,075
November 19	3:30 p.m.	Missouri		Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN	CBS	W 63–37	101,012
November 26	7:30 p.m.	at Vanderbilt	No. 24	Vanderbilt Stadium Nashville, TN (rivalry)	SECN	L 34–45	38,108
December 30	3:30 p.m.	vs. No. 24 Nebraska*		Nissan Stadium Nashville, TN (Music City Bowl)	ESPN	W 38–24	68,496
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game All times are in Eastern time

Schedule Source:^[25]

‡ – Current NCAA record for largest attendance to a collegiate football game.

Rankings

Game summaries

Appalachian State

Pregame line: Tennessee –21

The ninth–ranked Tennessee Volunteers overcame a 10–point halftime deficit to escape with a 20–13 victory over the Appalachian State Mountaineers.^[27] In overtime, Tennessee faced third-and-goal from the 2, when Joshua Dobbs ran then lost control of the ball as he was hit while extending his arms across the goal line. Jalen Hurd recovered the fumble in the end zone, and Aaron Medley kicked the extra point. In the Mountaineers' ensuing drive, Tennessee's Micah Abernathy ended the game by breaking up an end-zone pass on fourth–and–5 from the 20.^[26] Tennessee head coach Butch Jones commented after the game: "The first game of the year is always a game of the unknowns. We're still developing our identity for this football team, but we found a way to win, and at the end of the day, that's what it's about, but we have to get a lot better. Credit App State too. They're a really good football team."^[28]

Virginia Tech

Pregame line: Tennessee –11

Before an NCAA-record attendance of 156,990 in the "Battle at Bristol" against the Virginia Tech Hokies, the seventeenth-ranked Volunteers overcame a 14-point first-quarter deficit to score 24 points in the second quarter to win 45–24.^[30] Quarterback Joshua Dobbs threw three touchdown passes and had two rushing scores. Volunteers defensive back Micah Abernathy also set a school single-game record with three fumble recoveries. The Hokies ultimately lost five fumbles, three of which resulted in Tennessee touchdowns.^[29] Abernathy's performance earned him SEC Defensive Player of the Week honors.^[31]

Following the game, Tennessee head coach Butch Jones called the venue "a spectacle ... I don't think this will be duplicated or replicated." About the game, Jones stated "We didn't start out like we wanted to obviously, down 14-0, but I really liked the way we responded ... We were finally able to run the football and play Tennessee style of football."^[32] The Volunteers extend their eight-game winning streak, the longest since their 14 in a row in the 1998 and 1999 seasons, and the third longest active winning streak in the nation.^[33]

Ohio

Pregame line: Tennessee –27

Plagued with injuries prior to and during the game against the Ohio Bobcats, the fifteenth-ranked Volunteers struggled in the afternoon heat but maintained their early lead, winning 28–19.^[35] Tennessee scored 38 seconds into the game on a 20–yard pass from Joshua Dobbs to Josh Malone. Ohio, a 27–point underdog, remained relatively close throughout the game, until Dobbs and Malone connected again for a 20–yard touchdown, and the game's last scoring drive, with 11:07 remaining in the fourth quarter.^[35] Tennessee head coach Butch Jones called it "another gritty win" and spoke on starting conference play next week, "Our goal was to be 3–0 at this point, and we are 3–0, but I think everyone will tell you that we have to get a lot better."^[36]

#19 Florida

Pregame line: Tennessee –9

The 14th-ranked Volunteers trailed their rivals, the 19th-ranked Florida Gators, 21–3 at halftime. Tennessee mounted a comeback in the second half, scoring 35 unanswered points and snapping an 11-game losing streak, to win 38–28.^[38] Quarterback Joshua Dobbs threw four touchdowns, ran for another, and amassed a career-high 319 passing yards.^[39] On the defensive side, Derek Barnett had five tackles (three solo), two sacks for six yards, three tackles for loss for eight yards and one pass breakup. For their performances, Dobbs and Barnett were awarded SEC Players of the Week, with Dobbs as Offensive POW and Barnett as Co-Defensive Lineman POW.^[40]

The win gave the Volunteers their 12th double-digit winning streak (10) in program history. The win streak is also the longest of head coach Butch Jones' career.^[41] Following the game, Jones spoke on the resiliency of his team, "Must win, all that - that is not the case. We are building something special here with character and competitiveness. It's just one game. We've got to go on the road next week. The resolve of these kids, with all the expectations on this football game and you go down at half time and to have that second half performance. If you don't have character in your football program, that does not happen."^[42]

#25 Georgia

Pregame line: Tennessee –4

The 11th-ranked Tennessee Volunteers rallied from a double-digit deficit, the fourth time in five games, to defeat the 25th-ranked Georgia Bulldogs, 34–31.^[44] Georgia led 17-0 in the first half but only had a 24-21 edge when starting deep in its own territory late in the fourth quarter. Georgia quarterback Jacob Eason risked a pass from his own end zone but fumbled the ball after being hit by two defenders, Derek Barnett and Cortez McDowell. Tennessee's Corey Vereen fell on it for a touchdown. Eason seemed to redeem himself within the closing seconds of the game, by driving his offense past midfield. He then found Riley Ridley, streaking down the left sideline, and delivered a 47-yard pass that Ridley took in for the score. However, in the short ensuing kickoff, Tennessee's Evan Berry's 20-yard return put his team at midfield. With four seconds left in the game, quarterback Joshua Dobbs threw a 43-yard Hail Mary pass and connected with Jauan Jennings, who was just inside the end zone and in front of most of his Georgia defenders, for the win.^[45]

Barnett's forced fumble, five tackles, two sacks, and 2.5 tackles for loss earned him SEC Defensive Player of the Week honors. Long snapper Riley Lovingood was named SEC Co-Special Teams POW. In the 4th quarter, he snapped the ball to punter Trevor Daniel, who booted the high ball to the UGA 6-yard line. Lovingood raced down the field to make the catch, downing the ball to set the field position for Barnett's strip sack of Eason and Vereen's fumble recovery in the end zone two plays later.^[46]

Following the game, coach Butch Jones spoke on what he told his team before that last play, "I told our kids in the huddle that we were going to come down with it—we're going to find a way. And Josh (Dobbs) threw the best ball he's thrown in his career. And what can I say about Jauan Jennings? He wasn't going to be denied." Jones added, "Again, just resiliency ... 11 straight wins ... fifth-longest streak in school history. But really the most important thing is it gets us one step closer. We needed to be 1-0 and we were 1-0. This puts us at 5-0 overall. We're just finding ways to win football games."^[47]

#8 Texas A&M

Pregame line: Texas A&M –6

In only the third meeting between the two teams, the ninth-ranked Tennessee Volunteers visited the eighth-ranked Texas A&M Aggies at College Station, Texas. The game was the first for the teams as SEC opponents since the Aggies joined the conference in 2012. After falling behind through three quarters by a score of 28–14, Tennessee scored three touchdowns in the final seven minutes of the fourth quarter and rallied to force overtime.^[49] However, seven turnovers in the game led to the Volunteers' first loss of the season as Texas A&M won, 45-38, in double overtime.^[50]

Tennessee head coach Butch Jones spoke on his team's gameplay, "I'm very, very proud of our kids. Just the fight in them, the will to win. But again, you can't have seven turnovers, you can't turn the football over, you can't have the penalties we had. You have almost 700 yards of offense and you can't turn the football over. It's the details. Especially when you go on the road, the small details add up to the big details." Jones continued, speaking on the team's emotions and their next opponent, "That's life in the Southeastern Conference. It's not for everyone. The toughness that's involved day-to-day, week-to-week — the grind — and we have to get better in a hurry because we've got the No. 1 ranked team in the country coming in. So we have to improve on our deficiencies from this week."^[51]

#1 Alabama

Pregame line: Alabama –12