Tennessee – Syndication Server

Tennessee basketball ranked No. 1 for third consecutive week

Tennessee remains ranked No. 1 in the latest USA TODAY Sports Men’s Basketball Coaches Poll.

Tennessee (11-0) is ranked No. 1 for a third consecutive week in the USA TODAY Sports Men’s Basketball Coaches Poll.

The Vols will return to action on Monday versus Middle Tennessee State at Food City Center. Tipoff for the in-state nonconference matchup is slated for 7 p.m. EST and will be televised by SEC Network.

Tennessee will have one other game before 2025. The Vols will host Norfolk State on Dec. 31. Tipoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. EST at Food City Center (SEC Network+).

Below is the entire USA TODAY Sports Men’s Basketball Coaches Poll, including nine ranked SEC teams and five in the top 10.

Rank	Team	Record	Points
1	Tennessee	11-0	764 (20)
2	Auburn	11-1	746 (11)
3	Iowa State	10-1	706
4	Duke	10-2	659
5	Florida	12-0	649
6	Alabama	10-2	620
7	Kansas	9-2	531
8	Marquette	11-2	529
9	Oregon	11-1	484
10	Kentucky	10-2	476
11	Oklahoma	12-0	412
12	Houston	8-3	406
13	Texas A&M	10-2	405
14	UConn	10-3	395
15	Gonzaga	9-3	327
16	Ole Miss	11-1	261
17	Cincinnati	10-1	252
18	Michigan State	10-2	233
19	Mississippi State	11-1	196
20	San Diego State	8-2	148
21	UCLA	10-2	128
22	Illinois	8-3	86
23	Baylor	7-3	83
24	St. John’s	10-2	82
25	Purdue	8-4	73

Schools dropped out

No. 21 Michigan; No. 22 Memphis; No. 24 Dayton

Others receiving votes

Maryland 65; Michigan 52; Drake 51; Arkansas 51; Georgia 42; Clemson 40; Dayton 28; Memphis 25; Pittsburgh 22; Utah State 14; Texas Tech 9; Wisconsin 7; North Carolina 6; Missouri 6; West Virginia 5; Penn State 1

List of voters

The USA TODAY Sports Board of Coaches is made up of 31 head coaches at Division I institutions. All are members of the National Association of Basketball Coaches. The board for the 2024-25 season: Tobin Anderson, Iona; Adrian Autry, Syracuse; John Becker, Vermont; Randy Bennett, Saint Mary’s; Jeff Boals, Ohio; Alvin Brooks, Lamar; Scott Drew, Baylor; Matt Driscoll, North Florida; Dan Earl, Chattanooga; Jonas Hayes, Georgia State; Alan Huss, High Point; Donte’ Jackson, Grambling; Ben Jacobson, Northern Iowa; James Jones, Yale; Greg Kampe, Oakland; Brad Korn, Southeast Missouri State; Greg McDermott, Creighton; Nick McDevitt, Middle Tennessee; Mike McGarvey, Lafayette; Niko Medved, Colorado State; Dan Monson, Eastern Washington; Chris Mooney, Richmond; Nate Oats, Alabama; Eric Olen, UC San Diego; Matt Painter, Purdue; Michael Schwartz, East Carolina; Patrick Sellers, Central Connecticut State; Zach Spiker, Drexel; Brett Tanner, Abilene Christian; Stan Waterman, Delaware State; Jeff Wulbrun, Denver.

Breaking down sacks allowed for Tennessee since 2021

A look at how many sacks were allowed by Tennessee football since 2021.

Tennessee concluded its fourth season under Josh Heupel as the Vols’ head coach. The Vols finished 10-3 (6-2 SEC) in 2024 and were a No. 9 seed in the College Football Playoff.

Redshirt freshman Nico Iamaleava finished his first season as Tennessee’s starting quarterback in 2024. He completed 213-of-334 passing attempts for 2,616 yards, 19 touchdowns and five interceptions. Iamaleava was sacked 28 times.

He also recorded 109 rushing attempts for 358 yards and three touchdowns.

Following the conclusion of Tennessee’s 2024 football season, Vols Wire breaks down how many sacks were allowed. The number of sacks against each Tennessee quarterback since 2021 are listed below.

2024 (30)

Nico Iamaleava — 28
Jake Merklinger — 2

2023 (24)

Joe Milton III — 16
Nico Iamaleava — 7
Gaston Moore — 1

2022 (28)

Hendon Hooker — 23
Joe Milton III — 4
Tayven Jackson — 1

2021 (44)

Hendon Hooker — 36
Joe Milton III — 7
Harrison Bailey — 1
*Data provided by ESPN statistics

Tennessee will kick off its fifth season under Heupel versus Syracuse on Aug. 30, 2025 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. The Vols’ first home game will take place Sept. 6 versus East Tennessee State at Neyland Stadium.

PHOTOS: Tennessee’s starting quarterbacks through the years

Tennessee at Ohio State ties third-coldest game for Vols since 1950

Tennessee’s game at Ohio State tied for the Vols’ third-coldest football contest since 1950.

Tennessee’s (10-3, 6-2 SEC) 2024 football season came to an end on Saturday in the College Football Playoff first round.

The Vols lost to Ohio State (11-2, 7-2 Big Ten), 42-17, at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio.

According to the University of Tennessee, Saturday’s contest tied for the third-coldest game for the Vols since 1950. Temperature for the Tennessee-Ohio State game at kickoff was 25 degrees, tying the Vols’ contest against Vanderbilt at Neyland Stadium on Nov. 26, 1977.

The feels like temperature for the contest between Tennessee and Ohio State was 14 degrees.

Tennessee’s coldest football game since 1950 took place on Nov. 25, 1950 versus Kentucky at Neyland Stadium (10 degrees).

Tennessee’s coldest football games since 1950

Nov. 25, 1950 vs. Kentucky (Knoxville, Tennessee) – 10 degrees
Nov. 22, 1952 vs. Kentucky (Knoxville, Tennessee) – 18 degrees
Nov. 26, 1977 vs. Vanderbilt (Knoxville, Tennessee) – 25 degrees
Dec. 21, 2024 at Ohio State (Columbus, Ohio) – 25 degrees

PHOTOS: Tennessee at Ohio State in College Football Playoff first round

Ryan Day recaps Ohio State’s win versus Tennessee

Ohio State head coach Ryan Day discusses the Buckeyes’ win against Tennessee.

No. 8 seed Ohio State (11-2, 7-2 Big Ten) defeated No. 9 seed Tennessee (10-3, 6-2 SEC), 42-17, in the first round of the College Football Playoff.

The Buckeyes entered the game after losing to Michigan, 13-10, in the regular season finale. Ohio State also lost at Oregon, 32-31, during the regular season. The Ducks and Buckeyes will play again in the Rose Bowl and in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals on Jan. 1, 2025.

Ohio State head coach Ryan Day discussed the Buckeyes’ win against Tennessee in the first round.

“I’m proud of our seniors for a lot of reasons,” Day said. “One, for the fact that they were able to finish their last game at Ohio Stadium with a win like that. I’m also proud of the way that they responded.

“I told them in the locker room that in life you’re going to be, you’re defined by the way you handle adversity in life, as a person, as a man, as a dad, so to see the way that they responded in this game, you can tell from the jump that they had a look in their eye that they were going to go win this game. I thought they played that way. A lot of football ahead of us. Great win. We’ll enjoy this for 24 hours. Then it’s on to Oregon.”

PHOTOS: Tennessee-Ohio State first-round College Football Playoff game

Ryan Day. Photo by Dan Harralson, Vols Wire

Joey Halzle details Nico Iamaleava’s 20 rushing attempts against Ohio State

Tennessee offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Joey Halzle discusses Nico Iamaleava’s 20 rushing attempts at Ohio State.

Redshirt freshman Nico Iamaleava completed his first season as Tennessee’s starting quarterback.

The 6-foot-6, 215-pound signal caller completed 14-of-31 passing attempts for 104 yards in Tennessee’s, 42-17, loss at Ohio State on Saturday in the College Football Playoff first round. He also totaled 20 rushing attempts for 47 yards and two touchdowns.

Tennessee offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Joey Halzle discussed Iamaleava’s performance against the Buckeyes.

“A lot of the runs that Nico ended up doing was just him extending plays on his own,” Halzle said. “We did have some design quarterback run on the play he scored on and a couple third and shorts.

“We weren’t creating big plays in the pass game, weren’t creating big windows. We had difficulty up front. It was just an entire unit where from start to finish it couldn’t get anything to pop going right there. That’s why you ended up seeing him running with the ball in his hand a lot.”

Iamaleava had two other games this season with 10-plus rushing attempts. He totaled 11 rushing attempts at Arkansas and 12 at Georgia.

PHOTOS: Ohio State defeats Tennessee at Ohio Stadium

Joey Halzle. Photo by Dan Harralson, Vols Wire

Josh Heupel recaps Tennessee’s loss at Ohio State

Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel recaps the Vols’ first-round loss in the College Football Playoff at Ohio State.

The 2024 college football season came to an end for Tennessee (10-3, 6-2 SEC) on Saturday. The Vols were defeated by Ohio State (11-2, 7-2 Big Ten), 42-17.

The contest took place at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio, during the first round of the College Football Playoff.

Fourth-year Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel discussed the Vols’ season finale after the game.

“Just want to thank our fans,” Heupel said. “I don’t know what the actual number was that showed up, but there was a bunch of orange that decided to make the trip. Appreciate them. Disappointed for them. Disappointed for our team and everything that we have put into it since last January, that we didn’t coach and play better in this one early.

“There wasn’t a phase of the football game where we operated the way we needed to early in the game, and came back and made a couple plays at the end of the second quarter to tighten it up, and just didn’t function well enough the beginning of the third quarter, either. That’s a credit to them, but just didn’t do what you have to on the road in a game against a really good football team. Disappointed on all those accords. Talked to the players in the locker room, and everybody was disappointed, obviously, but there’s a lot of guys that played the last game in a Tennessee uniform that we’re really proud of, too. A lot of those guys have been with us since we started this journey, when I first got hired. Great leaders, great people, great players, and meant a lot to what we’ve built.”

PHOTOS: Ohio State defeats Tennessee at Ohio Stadium

Ohio State eliminates Vols from College Football Playoff

Ohio State defeats Tennessee in the first round of the College Football Playoff.

No. 8 seed Ohio State (11-2, 7-2 Big Ten) defeated No. 9 seed Tennessee (10-3, 6-2 SEC), 42-17, Saturday at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio in the first round of the College Football Playoff.

The Buckeyes led, 21-10, at halftime.

Ohio State scored the first 21 points of the game and led 21-0 at the end of the first quarter.

The Vols scored 10 points in the second quarter. Max Gilbert converted a 36-yard field goal and Nico Iamaleava recorded a 2-yard touchdown run.

Iamaleava, Tennessee’s redshirt freshman quarterback, converted 14-of-31 passing attempts for 104 yards. He also totaled 47 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 20 attempts.

Peyton Lewis was the Vols’ leading rusher as he recorded 77 rushing yards. Bru McCoy led Tennessee with four receptions for 40 yards.

Will Brooks had an interception for Tennessee which set up Gilbert’s field goal.

Tennessee managed 256 yards of total offense against the Buckeyes.

Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith finished with six receptions for 103 yards and two touchdowns. He was targeted six times.

Ohio State quarterback Will Howard completed 24-of-29 passing attempts for 311 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.

PHOTOS: Ohio State defeats Tennessee at Ohio Stadium

Photos of Tennessee-Ohio State first-round College Football Playoff game

PHOTOS: Tennessee-Ohio State first-round College Football Playoff game at Ohio Stadium

The first round of the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff has concluded.

First-round play kicked off on Friday with No. 7 seed Notre Dame defeating No. 10 seed Indiana, 27-17, at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana.

Saturday featured three games.

No. 6 seed Penn State defeated No. 11 seed SMU, 38-10, at Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania. No. 5 seed Texas was also victorious, 38-24, against No. 12 seed Clemson at Darrell K Royal Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas.

The final first-round game took place at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. No. 8 seed Ohio State (11-2, 7-2 Big Ten) defeated No. 9 seed Tennessee (10-3, 6-2 SEC), 42-17.

The Buckeyes advance to the Rose Bowl against Oregon in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals.

Below are photos of the Tennessee-Ohio State game in the College Football Playoff first round.

Tennessee’s game captains at Ohio State

Tennessee football announces game captains at Ohio State in the College Football Playoff.

No. 9 Tennessee will open play in the College Football Playoff on Saturday. The Vols are slated to play No. 8 seed Ohio State (10-2, 7-2 Big Ten) at 8 p.m. EST (ABC) in Columbus, Ohio.

Ahead of kickoff, Tennessee announced game captains versus the Buckeyes.

Cooper Mays (offensive line), Bru McCoy (wide receiver), Keenan Pili (linebacker), Matthew Salansky (long snapper) and Omari Thomas (defensive lineman) will serve as game captains for the Vols against Ohio State.

The Tennessee-Ohio State winner will advance to the College Football Playoff quarterfinals and will play No. 1 seed Oregon in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1, 2025 in Pasadena, California.

Tennessee last played in the Rose Bowl Game on Jan. 1, 1945 versus USC.

Cooper Mays. Photo by Dan Harralson, Vols Wire

Lady Vols defeat Tulsa in West Palm Beach Classic to remain undefeated

Lady Vols improve to 11-0 with a victory over Tulsa on Saturday in the West Palm Beach Classic.

No. 16 Tennessee (11-0) defeated Tulsa (6-6), 102-61, Saturday in the West Palm Beach Classic at Rubin Arena in West Palm Beach, Florida.

The Lady Vols led, 63-31, at halftime after outscoring the Golden Hurricane, 41-11, in the second quarter.

Sara Puckett totaled 17 points, seven rebounds and two assists for Tennessee. She was one of five Lady Vols to score 10-plus points in the contest.

Jewel Spear scored 16 points, while Zee Spearman recorded 15 points and nine rebounds for the Lady Vols, who scored 100 or more points for the fifth time this season.

Ruby Whitehorn totaled 13 points and five rebounds, while Talaysia Cooper finished with 13 points.

Tennessee forced 23 turnovers against Tulsa.

Delanie Crawford led the Golden Hurricane with 17 points.

PHOTOS: Kim Caldwell through the years