CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2023 Tennessee

9–⁠4 (4–⁠4 Southeastern Conference), coached by Josh Heupel, finished No. 17 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Tennessee in 2023, game by game: won vs. Virginia 49–13; won vs. Austin Peay 30–13; lost at Florida 16–29; won vs. UTSA 45–14; won vs. South Carolina 41–20; won vs. Texas A&M 20–13; lost at No. 11 Alabama 20–34; won at Kentucky 33–27; won vs. UConn 59–3; lost at No. 16 Missouri 7–36; lost vs. No. 1 Georgia 10–38; won vs. Vanderbilt 48–24; won vs. No. 20 Iowa 35–0+56−29Won 49–13 vs. Virginia+36VirginiaWon 30–13 vs. Austin Peay+17Austin PeayLost 16–29 at Florida-13FloridaWon 45–14 vs. UTSA+31UTSAWon 41–20 vs. South Carolina+21South CarolinaWon 20–13 vs. Texas A&M+7Texas A&MLost 20–34 at No. 11 Alabama-14No. 11 AlabamaWon 33–27 at Kentucky+6KentuckyWon 59–3 vs. UConn+56UConnLost 7–36 at No. 16 Missouri-29No. 16 MissouriLost 10–38 vs. No. 1 Georgia-28No. 1 GeorgiaWon 48–24 vs. Vanderbilt+24VanderbiltWon 35–0 vs. No. 20 Iowa+35No. 20 Iowa
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 2vsVirginiaW 49–⁠1377%
Sep 9vsAustin PeayW 30–⁠1389%
Sep 16atFloridaL 16–⁠2964%
Sep 23vsUTSAW 45–⁠1466%
Sep 30vsSouth CarolinaW 41–⁠2070%
Oct 14vsTexas A&MW 20–⁠1369%
Oct 21at11AlabamaL 20–⁠3431%
Oct 28atKentuckyW 33–⁠2755%
Nov 4vsUConnW 59–⁠391%
Nov 11at16MissouriL 7–⁠3653%
Nov 18vs1GeorgiaL 10–⁠3830%
Nov 25vsVanderbiltW 48–⁠2488%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs20IowaCitrus BowlW 35–⁠046%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Iowa 35–⁠0 in the Citrus Bowl; No. 17 in the final AP poll; tied for 6th in the Southeastern Conference.

In program history: The 45th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 123 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 12
  2. Wk 2: 9
  3. Wk 3: 11
  4. Wk 4: 23
  5. Wk 5: 21
  6. Wk 6: 22
  7. Wk 7: 19
  8. Wk 8: 17
  9. Wk 9: 21
  10. Wk 10: 19
  11. Wk 11: 14
  12. Wk 12: 21
  13. Wk 13: 25
  14. Wk 15: 25
  15. Final: 17
Record
9–⁠4
Conference
4–⁠4 tied for 6th in Southeastern Conference
AP final
No. 17 peak No. 9
Points
413–⁠264
Coach
Josh Heupel
Elo
1674 +34 this season
SP+ rating
16.2 No. 14 of 133; offense No. 18, defense No. 22, special teams No. 52
SRS
11.6 No. 19 of 133 in FBS
Returning
42% of last season’s EPA, No. 86 of 131
Recruiting class
No. 10 roster talent No. 16 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Joey Halzle
Defensive coordinator
Tim Banks
Offense
Veer and shoot
Defense
Multiple 4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense20th of 133
  • Defense21st of 133
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted20th of 133
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted22nd of 133
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.2146%1.2420th of 133
Defense0.0138%1.3021st of 133
Opponent-adjusted0.21 off
0.02 def		48% off
38% def		—20th off
22nd 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
Offense3.7own 3013% allowed
Defense3.3own 2618% caused

CORE rating 11.9, 25th of 133 (offense 6.5, defense -5.4).

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 yardsJoe Milton QB2,814 yds
Passing touchdownsJoe Milton QB20 TD
Rushing yardsJaylen Wright RB1,013 yds
Rushing touchdownsDylan Sampson RB7 TD
Receiving yardsSquirrel White WR804 yds
Receiving touchdownsRamel Keyton WR6 TD
TacklesElijah Herring LB79 tkl
SacksJames Pearce Jr. DL9.5 sacks
InterceptionsJaylen McCollough DB3 INT

Top recruits in the 2023 class

Nico Iamaleava QB★★★★★No. 3
Daevin Hobbs DL★★★★No. 57
Nathan Leacock WR★★★★No. 74
Caleb Herring DE★★★★No. 85
Arion Carter LB★★★★No. 130
Cameron Seldon ATH★★★★No. 135
Chandavian Bradley DE★★★★No. 137
Ethan Davis TE★★★★No. 144

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

The 2023 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks24.00.911
Running backs23.00.866
Receivers33.70.918
Offensive line33.30.883
Defensive line63.80.926
Linebackers33.70.905
Defensive backs53.40.894
Athletes and specialists23.50.909
Whole class263.60.905

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 2024

The 2024 draft
Rd 4Jaylen Wright RBMiami Dolphins
Rd 6Joe Milton III QBNew England Patriots
Rd 6Kamal Hadden CBKansas City Chiefs

Roster 124

The 2023 roster

124 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2023 line; 72 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 8

The 2023 portal
Dont’e Thornton Jr. WR★★★★from Oregon
Gabe Jeudy CB★★★★from BYU
Keenan Pili LB★★★★from BYU
McCallan Castles TE★★★★from UC Davis
Andrej Karic OT★★★from Texas
John Campbell OT★★★from Miami
Omarr Norman-Lott DL★★★from Arizona State
Charles Campbell K★★from Indiana

Transfers out 22

Tayven Jackson QB★★★★to Indiana
DaJon Terry DL★★★to Oklahoma
Jordan Phillips DL★★★to Maryland
Justin Williams-Thomas RB★★★to California
Walker Merrill WR★★★to Wake Forest
Jimmy Calloway WR★★★to Louisville
Amari McNeill DL★★★to Colorado
Len’Neth Whitehead RB★★★★to Georgia
Lyn-J Dixon RB★★★★no new school on file
Cameron Miller S★★★to Memphis
Derek Taylor ATH★★★no new school on file
Jimmy Holiday WR★★★to Western Kentucky

And 10 more, lower-rated or unrated.

All-SEC

1 first team, 2 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2023 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2023 Southeastern Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Georgia8–⁠013–⁠14
Alabama8–⁠012–⁠25
Missouri6–⁠211–⁠28
Ole Miss6–⁠211–⁠2
LSU6–⁠210–⁠312
Tennessee4–⁠49–⁠417
Texas A&M4–⁠47–⁠6
Kentucky3–⁠57–⁠6
Auburn3–⁠56–⁠7
South Carolina3–⁠55–⁠7
Florida3–⁠55–⁠7
Mississippi State1–⁠75–⁠79
Arkansas1–⁠74–⁠8
Vanderbilt0–⁠82–⁠10

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