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2024 Tennessee

10–⁠3 (6–⁠2 Southeastern Conference), coached by Josh Heupel, finished No. 9 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Tennessee in 2024, game by game: won vs. Chattanooga 69–3; won vs. No. 24 NC State 51–10; won vs. Kent State 71–0; won at No. 15 Oklahoma 25–15; lost at Arkansas 14–19; won vs. Florida 23–17; won vs. No. 7 Alabama 24–17; won vs. Kentucky 28–18; won vs. Mississippi State 33–14; lost at No. 11 Georgia 17–31; won vs. UTEP 56–0; won at Vanderbilt 36–23; lost at No. 6 Ohio State 17–42+71−25Won 69–3 vs. Chattanooga+66ChattanoogaWon 51–10 vs. No. 24 NC State+41No. 24 NC StateWon 71–0 vs. Kent State+71Kent StateWon 25–15 at No. 15 Oklahoma+10No. 15 OklahomaLost 14–19 at Arkansas-5ArkansasWon 23–17 vs. Florida+6FloridaWon 24–17 vs. No. 7 Alabama+7No. 7 AlabamaWon 28–18 vs. Kentucky+10KentuckyWon 33–14 vs. Mississippi State+19Mississippi Sta…Lost 17–31 at No. 11 Georgia-14No. 11 GeorgiaWon 56–0 vs. UTEP+56UTEPWon 36–23 at Vanderbilt+13VanderbiltLost 17–42 at No. 6 Ohio State-25No. 6 Ohio State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 31vsChattanoogaW 69–⁠384%
Sep 7vs24NC StateDuke’s Mayo ClassicW 51–⁠1055%
Sep 14vsKent StateW 71–⁠092%
Sep 21at15OklahomaW 25–⁠1545%
Oct 5atArkansasL 14–⁠1968%
Oct 12vsFloridaW 23–⁠1777%
Oct 19vs7AlabamaW 24–⁠1748%
Nov 2vsKentuckyW 28–⁠1883%
Nov 9vsMississippi StateW 33–⁠1489%
Nov 16at11GeorgiaL 17–⁠3132%
Nov 23vsUTEPW 56–⁠093%
Nov 30atVanderbiltW 36–⁠2371%
Dec 21Bowls & playoffat6Ohio StateCFP First RoundL 17–⁠4233%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Ohio State 42–⁠17 in the CFP First Round; No. 9 in the final AP poll; tied for 2nd in the Southeastern Conference.

In program history: The 33rd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 123 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 15
  2. Wk 2: 14
  3. Wk 3: 7
  4. Wk 4: 6
  5. Wk 5: 5
  6. Wk 6: 4
  7. Wk 7: 8
  8. Wk 8: 11
  9. Wk 9: 7
  10. Wk 10: 7
  11. Wk 11: 7
  12. Wk 12: 6
  13. Wk 13: 10
  14. Wk 14: 7
  15. Wk 15: 6
  16. Wk 16: 7
  17. Final: 9

Led the nationDont’e Thornton: yards per catch (25.4)

Record
10–⁠3
Conference
6–⁠2 tied for 2nd in Southeastern Conference
AP final
No. 9 peak No. 4
Points
464–⁠209
Coach
Josh Heupel
Elo
1692 +76 this season
SP+ rating
22.0 No. 9 of 134; offense No. 23, defense No. 6, special teams No. 15
SRS
14.3 No. 15 of 134 in FBS
Returning
33% of last season’s EPA, No. 93 of 133
Recruiting class
No. 14 roster talent No. 17 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Joey Halzle
Defensive coordinator
Tim Banks
Offense
Veer and shoot
Defense
Multiple 4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense33rd of 134
  • Defense9th of 134
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted35th of 134
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted9th of 134
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1746%1.1333rd of 134
Defense-0.0437%1.239th of 134
Opponent-adjusted0.17 off
-0.03 def		47% off
36% def		—35th off
9th 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
Offense4.0own 3213% allowed
Defense3.0own 2622% caused

CORE rating 17.1, 16th of 134 (offense 4.5, defense -12.6).

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 yardsNico Iamaleava QB2,616 yds
Passing touchdownsNico Iamaleava QB19 TD
Rushing yardsDylan Sampson RB1,491 yds
Rushing touchdownsDylan Sampson RB22 TD
Receiving yardsDont’E Thornton WR661 yds
Receiving touchdownsDont’E Thornton WR6 TD
TacklesArion Carter LB68 tkl
SacksJames Pearce Jr. DL7.5 sacks
InterceptionsJermod McCoy DB4 INT

Top recruits in the 2024 class

Jordan Ross DE★★★★★No. 22
Mike Matthews WR★★★★★No. 24
Braylon Staley WR★★★★No. 106
Boo Carter ATH★★★★No. 129
Peyton Lewis RB★★★★No. 136
Bennett Warren OT★★★★No. 140
Kaleb Beasley CB★★★★No. 159
Jake Merklinger QB★★★★No. 160

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

The 2024 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks14.00.931
Running backs14.00.940
Receivers34.00.934
Offensive line53.60.904
Defensive line63.50.888
Linebackers24.00.897
Defensive backs43.30.875
Athletes and specialists14.00.941
Whole class233.70.902

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 2025

The 2025 draft
Rd 1James Pearce Jr. DEAtlanta Falcons
Rd 2Omarr Norman-Lott DTKansas City Chiefs
Rd 4Dont’e Thornton Jr. WRLas Vegas Raiders
Rd 4Dylan Sampson RBCleveland Browns

Roster 123

The 2024 roster

123 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2024 line; 78 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 9

The 2024 portal
Lance Heard OT★★★★from LSU
Holden Staes TE★★★★from Notre Dame
Chris Brazzell II WR★★★★from Tulane
Jermod McCoy CB★★★★from Oregon State
Jakobe Thomas S★★★from Middle Tennessee
Jaxson Moi DL★★★from Stanford
Miles Kitselman TE★★★from Alabama
Jalen McMurray CB★★★from Temple
Tommy Winton III WR★★★from East Tennessee State

Transfers out 16

Tamarion McDonald S★★★★to Louisville
Addison Nichols OL★★★to Arkansas
Elijah Herring LB★★★to Memphis
Doneiko Slaughter CB★★★to Arkansas
Gerald Mincey OT★★★to Kentucky
Wesley Walker S★★★to Louisville
Brandon Turnage CB★★★to Ole Miss
Jack Luttrell S★★★to Arizona
Warren Burrell CB★★★to Georgia Tech
De’Shawn Rucker CB★★★to South Florida
Mo Clipper Jr. OL★★★to Charlotte
Camron Douglas DL★★★to Tennessee State

And 4 more, lower-rated or unrated.

All-SEC

4 first team

First team

From Wikipedia’s 2024 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2024 Southeastern Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Texas7–⁠113–⁠34
Georgia6–⁠211–⁠36
Tennessee6–⁠210–⁠39
Missouri5–⁠310–⁠322
Ole Miss5–⁠310–⁠311
South Carolina5–⁠39–⁠419
Alabama5–⁠39–⁠417
LSU5–⁠39–⁠4
Texas A&M5–⁠38–⁠5
Florida4–⁠48–⁠5
Vanderbilt3–⁠57–⁠6
Arkansas3–⁠57–⁠6
Oklahoma2–⁠66–⁠7
Auburn2–⁠65–⁠7
Kentucky1–⁠74–⁠8
Mississippi State0–⁠82–⁠10

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