The Tennessee Volunteers’ schedule for 2024 has been released. The Vols already knew who their opponents would be, but didn’t know the order until Wednesday night.
What game are you looking forward to most!? 👀
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— Tennessee Football (@Vol_Football) December 14, 2023
The Vols open the season at home on August 31 against the FCS Chattanooga Mocs. The team will then play a neutral site game against the NC State Wolfpack in Charlotte, NC. The team will then return to Knoxville to take on Kent State before traveling to Norman to take on the Oklahoma Sooners.
Check out the full schedule:
- August 31: vs. Chattanooga (Knoxville)
- September 7: vs. NC State (Charlotte)
- September 14: vs. Kent State (Knoxville)
- September 21: at Oklahoma (Norman, Okla.)
- September 28: OPEN
- October 5: at Arkansas (Fayetteville, Ark.)
- October 12: vs. Florida (Knoxville)
- October 19: vs. Alabama (Knoxville)
- October 26: OPEN
- November 2: vs. Kentucky (Knoxville)
- November 9: vs. Mississippi State (Knoxville)
- November 16: at Georgia (Athens, Ga.)
- November 23: vs. UTEP (Knoxville)
- November 30: at Vanderbilt (Nashville)
Now that we know the schedule, let’s go over some takeaways from the Vols’ 2024 slate.
The first real test could come early
The Vols play the Wolfpack in the second weekend of the season in a neutral site. While many may overlook this game, I believe that would be unwise.
The Wolfpack went 9-3 in 2023 and almost certainly will have a better quarterback in 2024 than they did this season. Former Coastal Carolina QB Grayson McCall transferred to the Wolfpack giving the team an immediate upgrade over Brennan Armstrong and MJ Morris. McCall was the Sun Belt’s Player of the Year every year from 2020-22.
McCall will have a go-to receiver in Kevin Concepcion and a solid young running back in Kendrick Raphael. Also a factor against Tennessee is that this game will be played in Charlotte instead of at Neyland.
4 consecutive home games in the back half will be huge
The Vols begin a 4-game stretch of home games that begins on Oct. 12 and ends on Nov. 9. During this time, the Vols will play Florida, Alabama, Kentucky, and Mississippi State in Knoxville. The team has a bye week in between the Alabama and Kentucky games.
Florida and Alabama are always tough games for the Vols, but getting them both in Knoxville is huge. The Vols have a meeting down in Athens with the Georgia Bulldogs after this stretch of home games, so stacking wins in that 4-game stretch will be crucial.
This schedule should allow the Vols to end on a positive note
The Vols have a couple of tough games to begin the season, a couple of tough games in the middle, and one tough game in the back half. As mentioned above, the Vols play the Bulldogs in Athens on Nov. 16. After this, however, the Vols should have 2 wins remaining on the schedule with a home game against UTEP and a road game at Vanderbilt.
The game at Vanderbilt may as well be a home game for the Vols. With Nashville just a couple of hours away from Knoxville, the Vols always have a heavy presence in the Music City.
The Vols have not lost to the Commodores since 2018 and UTEP won just 3 games in 2023. Unless the wheels fall completely off, the Vols should close the 2024 season with 2 wins.