2020 Tennessee
3–7 (3–7 Southeastern Conference), coached by Jeremy Pruitt. Officially 0–7: the NCAA vacated three regular-season wins. Share
From the season’s Wikipedia article: “However, in July 2023, all Tennessee wins for the 2019 and 2020 seasons were vacated due to the recruiting violations.”
Schedule and results
- Biggest winBeat Vanderbilt 42–17Dec 12
By 25 points, its widest win.
- Most excitingBeat South Carolina 31–27Sep 26
The win probability swung the most, by CollegeFootballData.com’s excitement index.
| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 26 | at South Carolina | W 31–27vacated | 51% |
| Oct 3 | vs Missouri | W 35–12vacated | 66% |
| Oct 10 | at 3Georgia | L 21–44 | 25% |
| Oct 17 | vs Kentucky | L 7–34 | 57% |
| Oct 24 | vs 2Alabama | L 17–48 | 25% |
| Nov 7 | at Arkansas | L 13–24 | 58% |
| Nov 21 | at 23Auburn | L 17–30 | 22% |
| Dec 5 | vs 6Florida | L 19–31 | 23% |
| Dec 12 | at Vanderbilt | W 42–17vacated | 66% |
| Dec 19 | vs 5Texas A&M | L 13–34 | 28% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
How it ended: Lost to Texas A&M 34–13; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 10th in the Southeastern Conference.
In program history: The 110th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 123 on file).
AP poll, week by week
- Wk 1: 25
- Wk 3: 15
- Wk 4: 16
- Wk 5: 21
- Wk 6: 14
- Wk 7: 18
- Record
- 3–7
- Conference
- 3–7 tied for 10th in Southeastern Conference
- AP final
- Unranked peak No. 14
- Points
- 215–301
- Coach
- Jeremy Pruitt
- Elo
- 1472 −78 this season
- SP+ rating
- 0.9 No. 63 of 130; offense No. 93, defense No. 32
- SRS
- −0.3 No. 44 of 77 in FBS
- Returning
- 54% of last season’s EPA, No. 85 of 130
- Recruiting class
- No. 10 roster talent No. 13 in FBS
- Offensive coordinator
- Jim Chaney
- Defensive coordinator
- Derrick Ansley
- Offense
- Pro-style
- Defense
- 3–4
How good, play by play
| EPA per play | Success | Explosiveness | FBS rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 0.08 | 43% | 1.24 | 79th of 127 |
| Defense | 0.16 | 48% | 1.12 | 83rd of 127 |
| Opponent-adjusted | 0.08 off 0.12 def | 42% off 45% def | — | 87th off 66th 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 40 | Average start | Havoc | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 3.0 | own 27 | 16% allowed |
| Defense | 3.8 | own 28 | 15% caused |
CORE rating -0.6, 68th of 127 (offense -0.5, defense 0.1).
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 yards | Jarrett Guarantano QB | 1,112 yds |
| Passing touchdowns | Jarrett Guarantano QB | 6 TD |
| Rushing yards | Eric Gray RB | 772 yds |
| Rushing touchdowns | Eric Gray RB | 4 TD |
| Receiving yards | Josh Palmer WR | 475 yds |
| Receiving touchdowns | Josh Palmer WR | 4 TD |
| Tackles | Henry To’o To’o LB | 71 tkl |
| Sacks | Deandre Johnson DE | 4.5 sacks |
| Interceptions | Bryce Thompson DB | 2 INT |
Top recruits in the 2020 class
| Key Lawrence S | ★★★★ | No. 81 |
| Omari Thomas DT | ★★★★ | No. 91 |
| Harrison Bailey PRO | ★★★★ | No. 99 |
| Malachi Wideman WR | ★★★★ | No. 117 |
| Tyler Baron SDE | ★★★★ | No. 118 |
| Jalin Hyatt WR | ★★★★ | No. 183 |
| Jimmy Calloway WR | ★★★★ | No. 191 |
| Len’Neth Whitehead ILB | ★★★★ | No. 215 |
247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.
The 2020 class by position
| Signed | Stars | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterbacks | 2 | 3.0 | 0.859 |
| Running backs | 2 | 3.0 | 0.868 |
| Receivers | 3 | 4.0 | 0.933 |
| Offensive line | 3 | 3.3 | 0.882 |
| Defensive line | 6 | 3.7 | 0.903 |
| Linebackers | 4 | 3.8 | 0.899 |
| Defensive backs | 2 | 3.5 | 0.924 |
| Athletes and specialists | 4 | 3.0 | 0.849 |
| Whole class | 26 | 3.5 | 0.891 |
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 2021
The 2021 draft| Rd 3 | Josh Palmer WR | Los Angeles Chargers |
| Rd 6 | Trey Smith OG | Kansas City Chiefs |
Roster 136
The 2020 roster136 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2020 line; 60 have a stat line. See the roster
All-SEC
2 first team, 1 second teamFirst team
Trey SmithOGAP-1; Coaches-1
Nigel WarriorSAP-1; Coaches-2
Second team
Henry To’oTo’oLBAP-2
From Wikipedia’s 2020 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).
2020 Southeastern Conference standings
Conference page| Team | Conf. | Overall | AP final |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 10–0 | 13–0 | 1 |
| Texas A&M | 8–1 | 9–1 | 4 |
| Florida | 8–2 | 8–4 | 13 |
| Georgia | 7–2 | 8–2 | 7 |
| Auburn | 6–4 | 6–5 | |
 LSU | 5–5 | 5–5 | |
| Missouri | 5–5 | 5–5 | |
 Ole Miss | 4–5 | 5–5 | |
| Kentucky | 4–6 | 5–6 | |
 Mississippi State | 3–7 | 4–7 | |
| Arkansas | 3–7 | 3–7 | |
| Tennessee | 3–7 | 3–7 | |
| South Carolina | 2–8 | 2–8 | |
| Vanderbilt | 0–9 | 0–9 |
Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.