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.
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.
Nick Saban makes a game prediction between Tennessee and Ohio State in the College Football Playoff.
ESPN “College GameDay” broadcast live from Columbus, Ohio, on Saturday.
No. 8 seed Ohio State (10-2, 7-2 Big Ten) will host No. 9 seed Tennessee (10-2, 6-2 SEC) on Saturday in the first round of the College Football Playoff.
Kickoff between the Vols and Buckeyes is scheduled for 8 p.m. EST at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio (ABC).
Former coach Nick Saban is in his first season on “College GameDay.” He picked the winner of the Tennessee-Ohio State first-round game.
Saban picked Ohio State to defeat Tennessee.
Tennessee leads the all-time series versus the Buckeyes, 1-0. The only meeting took place on Jan. 1, 1996 in the Citrus Bowl. Tennessee defeated Ohio State, 20-14, in Orlando, Florida.
Lady Vols improve to 10-0 with victory over Richmond in West Palm Beach, Florida.
No. 16 Tennessee (10-0) defeated Richmond (9-3), 92-67, Friday at the West Palm Beach Classic at Rubin Arena in West Palm Beach, Florida.
The Lady Vols led, 47-39, at halftime.
Tennessee’s Talaysia Cooper led all scorers with 24 points. She scored 15 points in the third quarter.
Ruby Whitehorn totaled 15 points and seven rebounds before fouling out. She scored 10 points in the first half. Samara Spencer recorded 11 points, six assists and three rebounds, while Jewel Spear and Zee Spearman scored eight points.
Rachel Ullstrom totaled 19 points and five rebounds for the Spiders. Maggie Doogan recorded 14 points six rebounds and six assists, while Ally Sweeney posted 13 points, five assists and one rebound.
Former Tennessee quarterback Jarrett Guarantano discusses the Vols in the College Football Playoff and playing in cold weather.
No. 9 seed Tennessee (10-2, 6-2 SEC) will play in a cold-weather game on Saturday like the Vols did at Missouri in 2019. The Vols will play at No. 8 seed Ohio State (10-2, 7-2 Big Ten) in the first round of the College Football Playoff.
A below freezing temperature is expected at kickoff between Tennessee and the Buckeyes in Columbus, Ohio.
On Nov. 23, 2019, the Vols defeated Missouri, 24-20, with 39 degree weather and 7-9 mph wind at kickoff.
Tennessee quarterback Jarrett Guarantano completed 23-of-40 passing attempts for 415 yards and two touchdowns, guiding the Vols to victory. At the time, his performance was the first for a Tennessee quarterback to record 400-plus passing yards in a game since Tyler Bray in 2012.
Three Tennessee wide receivers also recorded 100-plus yards for the first time during a game in school history: Josh Palmer (124), Jauan Jennings (115) and Marquez Callaway (110).
Guarantano discussed with Vols Wire Tennessee in the College Football Playoff and preparing to play in cold weather at Ohio State like he did at Missouri and other contests.
“I see a lot of analysts saying it is a negative factor for Tennessee,” Guarantano said. “What a lot of people do not understand about Knoxville is how cold it can get. Amongst that Missouri game, we played in a bunch of cold weather games and we practiced in cold weather all the time. It is not that much different than the north, and I am from New Jersey. Obviously, the only thing that can take effect is the travel, but it is not really a far game. If we go to the Rose Bowl, or such, that is a little further, but you would be there for a week.
“The weather is not really an effect, it’s not snow, it’s not really anything like that, it’s just a little colder. We have the Smoky Mountains, we have Rocky Top, the guys are used to it. I don’t really think it takes into effect, the only thing it can do is mental. It is a little harder to get warm, a little harder to sweat a little bit, but for this game everyone just has to be ready to go. The juices will be flowing, so it won’t be too difficult to get their bodies going for this one.”
Photo by Dan Harralson, Vols Wire
Guarantano played at Tennessee from 2016-20. He completed 494-of-808 passing attempts for 6,174 yards and 38 touchdowns.
Guarantano played for the UFL’s Houston Roughnecks in 2024. He returned to Tennessee for the first time for a football game in 2024, attending the Vols’ win against Alabama at Neyland Stadium on Oct. 19.
The former Tennessee quarterback is excited about the current state of UT athletics competing at a championship level in multiple sports.
“That was my first time back since my last game,” he said. “It is a really good time. It’s all sports.”
Guarantano also discussed Tennessee’s football program under fourth-year head coach Josh Heupel.
“He looks at his personnel, he game plans for his personnel, he puts his players in the best position possible, no matter if that is every game or every year, every recruiting class — everything,” Guarantano said. “He is such a special coach and he does it the right way. I am super happy that they decided to go with him as coach because it has been program changing, for sure.”
Score predictions for the Tennessee-Ohio State game in the College Football Playoff first round.
No. 9 seed Tennessee (10-2, 6-2 SEC) will open play in the College Football Playoff on Saturday. No. 8 seed Ohio State (10-2, 7-2 Big Ten) will host the Vols in the College Football Playoff first round.
Kickoff between the Vols and Buckeyes is slated for 8 p.m. EST at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. ABC will televise the matchup.
Saturday will mark the Vols’ first game played in Ohio all time. Ohio Stadium will also host a football game for the first time in December.
The winner between the Vols and Buckeyes will advance to the College Football Playoff quarterfinals against No. 1 seed Oregon (13-0, 9-0 Big Ten). The quarterfinal matchup will be contested at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California on Jan. 1, 2025 (5 p.m. EST, ESPN).
Tennessee will become the fourth team as a SEC member to play Ohio State at Ohio Stadium all time.
No. 9 seed Tennessee (10-2, 6-2 SEC) will become the fourth team as a Southeastern Conference league member to play at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio.
The Vols will play No. 8 seed Ohio State (10-2, 7-2 Big Ten) on Saturday in the first round of the College Football Playoff. Kickoff between Tennessee and the Buckeyes is scheduled for 8 p.m. EST and will be televised by ABC.
Saturday’s winner will advance to the Rose Bowl to play No. 1 seed Oregon on Jan. 1, 2025.
Ohio State has hosted three other games against teams as SEC members all time at Ohio Stadium: LSU (1988), Kentucky (1935) and Vanderbilt (1933). The first SEC football season was in 1933.
Ohio State’s game results versus SEC members at Ohio Stadium
Jewel Spear and Zee Spearman led the Lady Vols in scoring with 18 points. Talaysia Cooper (12), Tess Darby (12), Samara Spencer (12) and Ruby Whitehorn (10) also scored 10-plus points for Tennessee.
Spearman (12) and Cooper (11) were Tennessee’s leading rebounders. The duo also finished with the most assists, recording six each.
10 Lady Vol players appeared in the game at Memphis.
Tennessee totaled 26 bench points, 38 points in the paint, 20 points off turnovers, 23 second chance points and 10 fast break points.
The Lady Vols will next play Richmond on Friday in the West Palm Beach Classic. Tipoff is scheduled for 2:15 p.m. EST..
Tennessee announces uniform combination at Ohio State in the College Football Playoff.
No. 9 seed Tennessee (10-2, 6-2 SEC) is preparing to play at No. 8 seed Ohio State (10-2, 7-2 Big Ten) in the first round of the College Football Playoff.
The Buckeyes will host the Vols on Saturday at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio (8 p.m. EST, ABC).
“Great opportunity this week, playing a big game against a great opponent,” Tennessee coach Josh Heupel said. “A lot of work has gone on to get to this point. The guys started back in January, staff and players together. They’ve earned the right to play in a game like this.”
Tennessee announced its uniform combination against the Buckeyes on Wednesday. The Vols will wear their “storm trooper” uniforms: white helmets, white jerseys and white pants.
Ohio State’s winterization efforts detailed for Ohio Stadium in the College Football Playoff versus Tennessee.
No. 8 seed Ohio State (10-2, 7-2 Big Ten) will host No. 9 seed Tennessee (10-2, 6-2 SEC) on Saturday in the first round of the College Football Playoff.
Kickoff between the Vols and Buckeyes is scheduled for 8 p.m. EST at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio.
ABC will televise the first-round matchup. Chris Fowler (play-by-play), Kirk Herbstreit (analyst), Holly Rowe and Marty Smith (reporters) will be on the call.
Ohio State announced winterization efforts for Ohio Stadium ahead of hosting the College Football Playoff and the 2025 NHL Stadium Series, featuring the Columbus Blue Jackets playing the Detroit Red Wings.
“Ohio State has been preparing for a December game at Ohio Stadium ever since the CFP announced it would have first-round playoff sites,” Ohio State announced. “The department of athletics will host the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets and Detroit Red Wings at Ohio Stadium in an NHL Stadium Series game this March.
“Efforts to winterize the stadium for these CFP and NHL contests include: Repairing and replacing all existing heat trace piping for cold water piping; Adding portable heaters to concession stands (96 heaters); Continuing the heat trace repair/replace efforts for additional cold water piping and sanitary drops in B, C and D deck; Having plumbers – both university and contracted – on standby throughout the week and at the game; and purchasing equipment and having an army of individuals on standby for snow removal.”
