2026 Tennessee
6–1 (3–1 Southeastern Conference), coached by Josh Heupel. The season’s Wikipedia article records 5–1, over six games to the seven on file here. Share
Schedule and results
- Biggest upsetBeat No. 6 Alabama 26–10Oct 17
Alabama was ranked No. 6 and favored to win.
- Most excitingBeat Arkansas 24–17Oct 10
The win probability swung the most, by CollegeFootballData.com’s excitement index.
| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 5 | vs Furman | W 56–9 | 89% |
| Sep 12 | at Georgia Tech | W 45–24 | 50% |
| Sep 19 | vs Kennesaw State | W 42–9 | 78% |
| Sep 26 | vs 1Texas | L 17–20 | 47% |
| Oct 3 | vs Auburn | W 24–14 | 68% |
| Oct 10 | at Arkansas | W 24–17 | 68% |
| Oct 17 | vs 6Alabama | W 26–10 | 48% |
| Oct 24 | at South Carolina | Preview | 62% |
| Nov 7 | vs Kentucky | Preview | 68% |
| Nov 14 | at Texas A&M | Preview | 55% |
| Nov 21 | vs LSU | Preview | 62% |
| Nov 28 | at Vanderbilt | Preview | 63% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
AP poll, week by week
- Wk 1: 20
- Wk 2: 18
- Wk 3: 15
- Wk 4: 14
- Wk 5: 17
- Wk 6: 15
- Wk 7: 14
- Record
- 6–1
- Conference
- 3–1 tied for 3rd in Southeastern Conference
- AP now
- No. 14 in the week 7 poll; peak No. 14
- Points
- 234–103
- Coach
- Josh Heupel
- Elo
- 1680 +96 this season
- SP+ rating
- 16.7 No. 15 of 138; offense No. 21, defense No. 23, special teams No. 9
- SRS
- 14.7 No. 20 of 138 in FBS
- Returning
- 35% of last season’s EPA, No. 79 of 136
- Recruiting class
- No. 8 roster talent No. 13 in FBS
- Offensive coordinator
- Joey Halzle
- Defensive coordinators
- Jim Knowles and Anthony Poindexter
- Offense
- Veer and shoot
- Defense
- 4–2–5
How good, play by play
| EPA per play | Success | Explosiveness | FBS rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 0.12 | 43% | 1.15 | 61st of 138 |
| Defense | -0.09 | 39% | 1.04 | 8th of 138 |
| Opponent-adjusted | 0.11 off 0.02 def | 42% off 41% def | — | 58th off 17th def |
Passing and running
| Pass success | Depth of target | Deep throws | Line yards | Stuffed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 45% | 7.3 yds | 9% | 3.50 | 12% |
| Defense | 43% | 6.3 yds | 7% | 2.90 | 18% |
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. Passing and running: depth of target is how far downfield passes traveled in the air; deep throws are the share thrown deep, of the passes whose depth and direction the play-by-play describes (about half); line yards are the running yards per carry credited to the blockers; stuffed is the share of carries stopped at or behind the line. The defense’s line is what its opponents did. From CollegeFootballData.com, 2025 on.
Drives and havoc
| Points per trip inside the 40 | Average start | Havoc | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 4.3 | own 30 | 15% allowed |
| Defense | 2.4 | own 28 | 23% caused |
CORE rating 11.1, 25th of 138 (offense 1.6, defense -9.5).
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 | Faizon Brandon QB | 697 yds |
| Passing touchdowns | Faizon Brandon QB | 7 TD |
| Rushing yards | DeSean Bishop RB | 837 yds |
| Rushing touchdowns | DeSean Bishop RB | 10 TD |
| Receiving yards | Mike Matthews WR | 481 yds |
| Receiving touchdowns | Mike Matthews WR | 3 TD |
| Tackles | Amare Campbell LB | 46 tkl |
| Sacks | Tyree Weathersby DL | 6.5 sacks |
| Interceptions | Dejuan Lane DB | 3 INT |
Top recruits in the 2026 class
| Faizon Brandon QB | ★★★★★ | No. 10 |
| T.K. Keys WR | ★★★★★ | No. 13 |
| Joel Wyatt ATH | ★★★★ | No. 71 |
| T.J. White LB | ★★★★ | No. 72 |
| Brayden Rouse LB | ★★★★ | No. 79 |
| Gabriel Osenda OT | ★★★★ | No. 102 |
| Carter Gooden DE | ★★★★ | No. 106 |
| Tyreek King WR | ★★★★ | No. 131 |
247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.
The 2026 class by position
| Signed | Stars | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterbacks | 1 | 5.0 | 0.994 |
| Running backs | 1 | 3.0 | 0.867 |
| Receivers | 5 | 3.6 | 0.905 |
| Offensive line | 4 | 3.5 | 0.908 |
| Defensive line | 10 | 3.7 | 0.903 |
| Linebackers | 2 | 4.0 | 0.968 |
| Defensive backs | 4 | 3.0 | 0.884 |
| Athletes and specialists | 4 | 3.5 | 0.897 |
| Whole class | 31 | 3.6 | 0.907 |
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.
Roster 112
The 2026 roster112 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2026 line; 63 have a stat line. See the roster
Transfers in 21
The 2026 portal Chaz Coleman DE | ★★★★★ | from  Penn State |
| Xavier Gilliam DL | ★★★★ | from Penn State |
| Kayin Lee CB | ★★★ | from  Auburn |
| Amare Campbell LB | ★★★ | from Penn State |
| Dejuan Lane S | ★★★ | from Penn State |
 T.J. Metcalf S | ★★★ | from  Michigan |
 Donovan Haslam OL | ★★★ | from  West Virginia |
 Isaiah Hardge CB | ★★★ | from  Colorado |
 Ja’Dais Richard CB | ★★★ | from  Miami |
 Javin Gordon RB | ★★★ | from  Tulane |
| Ory Williams OT | ★★★ | from  LSU |
 Mar’Quavious Moss S | ★★★ | from  Kansas State |
And 9 more, lower-rated or unrated.
Transfers out 29
 Lance Heard OT | ★★★★ | to  Kentucky |
| Arion Carter LB | ★★★★ | returned to  Tennessee |
| Boo Carter S | ★★★★ | to Colorado |
| Jordan Ross DE | ★★★★ | to LSU |
| Rickey Gibson III CB | ★★★★ | to  Texas A&M |
| Jack Van Dorselaer TE | ★★★★ | to  Oklahoma |
| Caleb Herring DE | ★★★ | to  South Carolina |
| Bennett Warren OT | ★★★ | to  Minnesota |
| William Satterwhite II OL | ★★★ | to LSU |
| Emmanuel Okoye DE | ★★★ | to  California |
| Herb Gray DL | ★★★ | to  UNLV |
| Jake Merklinger QB | ★★★ | to  UConn |
And 17 more, lower-rated or unrated.
2026 Southeastern Conference standings
Conference page| Team | Conf. | Overall | AP final |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kentucky | 4–1 | 6–1 | |
 Georgia | 4–1 | 6–1 | |
| Tennessee | 3–1 | 6–1 | |
 Ole Miss | 3–1 | 5–1 | |
 Florida | 3–2 | 5–2 | |
| Alabama | 3–2 | 5–2 | |
| LSU | 2–2 | 5–2 | |
 Missouri | 2–2 | 5–2 | |
 Mississippi State | 2–2 | 4–2 | |
| Auburn | 2–2 | 4–2 | |
| Texas | 1–2 | 4–2 | |
 Oklahoma | 1–2 | 3–3 | |
| Texas A&M | 1–3 | 4–3 | |
| South Carolina | 1–3 | 3–3 | |
| Arkansas | 1–3 | 3–4 | |
| Vanderbilt | 0–4 | 3–4 |
Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.