CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2017 Tennessee

4–⁠8 (0–⁠8 Southeastern Conference), coached by Butch Jones, then Brady Hoke (interim, final 2 games).

Schedule and results

Tennessee in 2017, game by game: won vs. Georgia Tech 42–41; won vs. Indiana State 42–7; lost at No. 24 Florida 20–26; won vs. Massachusetts 17–13; lost vs. No. 7 Georgia 0–41; lost vs. South Carolina 9–15; lost at No. 1 Alabama 7–45; lost at Kentucky 26–29; won vs. Southern Miss 24–10; lost at Missouri 17–50; lost vs. No. 21 LSU 10–30; lost vs. Vanderbilt 24–42+35−41Won 42–41 vs. Georgia Tech+1Georgia TechWon 42–7 vs. Indiana State+35Indiana StateLost 20–26 at No. 24 Florida-6No. 24 FloridaWon 17–13 vs. Massachusetts+4MassachusettsLost 0–41 vs. No. 7 Georgia-41No. 7 GeorgiaLost 9–15 vs. South Carolina-6South CarolinaLost 7–45 at No. 1 Alabama-38No. 1 AlabamaLost 26–29 at Kentucky-3KentuckyWon 24–10 vs. Southern Miss+14Southern MissLost 17–50 at Missouri-33MissouriLost 10–30 vs. No. 21 LSU-20No. 21 LSULost 24–42 vs. Vanderbilt-18Vanderbilt
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 4vsGeorgia TechW 42–⁠4155%
Sep 9vsIndiana StateW 42–⁠791%
Sep 16at24FloridaL 20–⁠2646%
Sep 23vsMassachusettsW 17–⁠1388%
Sep 30vs7GeorgiaL 0–⁠4148%
Oct 14vsSouth CarolinaL 9–⁠1562%
Oct 21at1AlabamaL 7–⁠4511%
Oct 28atKentuckyL 26–⁠2941%
Nov 4vsSouthern MissW 24–⁠1064%
Nov 11atMissouriL 17–⁠5049%
Nov 18vs21LSUL 10–⁠3033%
Nov 25vsVanderbiltL 24–⁠4266%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Vanderbilt 42–⁠24; unranked in the final AP poll; 14th in the Southeastern Conference.

In program history: The 113th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 123 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 25
  2. Wk 2: 25
  3. Wk 3: 23
Record
4–⁠8
Conference
0–⁠8 14th in Southeastern Conference
AP final
Unranked peak No. 23
Points
238–⁠349
Coach
Butch Jones, then Brady Hoke (interim, final 2 games)
Elo
1444 −157 this season
SP+ rating
1.2 No. 67 of 128; offense No. 83, defense No. 54, special teams No. 26
SRS
−6.1 No. 88 of 130 in FBS
Returning
22% of last season’s EPA, No. 122 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 17 roster talent No. 12 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Larry Scott
Defensive coordinator
Bob Shoop
Offense
Multiple
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense116th of 130
  • Defense86th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted115th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted71st of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense-0.0439%1.03116th of 130
Defense0.1448%0.9786th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.00 off
0.09 def		41% off
46% def		—115th off
71st def
How these are measured

Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense2.9own 3321% allowed
Defense3.8own 3114% caused

CORE rating -6.9, 94th of 130 (offense -8.6, defense -1.6).

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. CORE is CollegeFootballData.com’s context- and opponent-adjusted rating (points better than an average team; lower is better on defense). From CollegeFootballData.com.

Leaders

Passing yardsJarrett Guarantano QB997 yds
Passing touchdownsQuinten Dormady QB6 TD
Rushing yardsJohn Kelly RB778 yds
Rushing touchdownsJohn Kelly RB9 TD
Receiving yardsBrandon Edward Johnson WR482 yds
Receiving touchdownsMarquez Callaway WR5 TD
TacklesDaniel Bituli LB90 tkl
SacksColton Jumper LB4.5 sacks
InterceptionsDaniel Bituli LB1 INT

Top recruits in the 2017 class

Trey Smith OT★★★★★No. 14
Ty Chandler RB★★★★No. 66
Maleik Gray S★★★★No. 80
Eric Crosby DT★★★★No. 218
Will Ignont ILB★★★★No. 301
Jordan Murphy WR★★★★No. 344

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2017 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.829
Running backs23.50.894
Receivers53.20.858
Offensive line33.70.906
Defensive line63.20.875
Linebackers43.00.855
Defensive backs53.20.886
Athletes and specialists43.00.840
Whole class303.20.870

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Drafted in 2018

The 2018 draft
Rd 3Rashaan Gaulden CBCarolina Panthers
Rd 6John Kelly RBLos Angeles Rams
Rd 6Kahlil McKenzie DTKansas City Chiefs

Roster 119

The 2017 roster

119 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2017 line; 65 have a stat line. See the roster

All-SEC

1 second team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2017 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2017 Southeastern Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Alabama7–⁠113–⁠11
Georgia7–⁠113–⁠22
Auburn7–⁠110–⁠410
LSU6–⁠29–⁠418
South Carolina5–⁠39–⁠4
Mississippi State4–⁠49–⁠419
Kentucky4–⁠47–⁠6
Missouri4–⁠47–⁠6
Texas A&M4–⁠47–⁠6
Ole Miss3–⁠56–⁠6
Florida3–⁠54–⁠7
Vanderbilt1–⁠75–⁠7
Arkansas1–⁠74–⁠8
Tennessee0–⁠84–⁠8

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.