2025 Mississippi State football opponent preview: Tennessee

Is Tennessee back to its old, dominant self? The type of Volunteers that competes for conference titles and plays in big name bowl games?

What happens to Tennessee this year will go a long way in answering those questions. Last year, the Volunteers earned a spot in the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff (where they lost to eventual national champion, Ohio State).

If Tennessee wants to prove it has returned to its spot in top tier of the SEC, the Volunteers will need to have a similar season and that would include a repeat of a dominant win against Mississippi State.

ICYMI: 2025 Mississippi State football opponent preview: Northern Illinois

The Bulldogs lost to Tennessee 33-14 in Jeff Lebby’s first season leading the Bulldogs. But there are enough question marks on both sidelines that making a prediction won’t be easy. Here’s a look at the Bulldogs’ fifth opponent of the season:

Offense

Tennessee began its spring practices with a Heisman candidate quarterback, Nico Iamaleava. It ended spring practices by cutting Iamaleava from the team and watching him go to UCLA, while bringing in former Appalachian State quarterback Joey Aguilar. Aguilar had 3,003 passing yards and 24 touchdowns through the air last season, but also had 14 interceptions. But that was against schools with less talent than most SEC schools.

Iamaleava was only one of two returning starters from last year’s team (left tackle Lance Heard is the other). Leading rusher Dylan Sampson is in the NFL and the top three pass catchers are either in the NFL or playing somewhere else. Head coach Josh Heupel’s offensive prowess will be tested.

Defense

Tennessee is returning eight starters from last year’s defense that ended the season ranked sixth in scoring defense (16.08 points allowed per game). The Volunteers won’t have the best player from that defense, James Pearce Jr., but do return their top two leading tacklers (Arion Carter and Jeremiah Telander), its leader in interceptions (Jermod McCoy, although he is coming off an ACL injury) and will field a defensive line (Dominic Bailey, Jaxson Moi, Bryson Eason and Joshua Josephs) that combined for seven sacks last season.

Schedule

This will be Mississippi State’s conference opener, but the Volunteers will have already played one SEC game against Georgia. That could be a matchup of top 10 teams. And, no, Mississippi State won’t qualify as trap game for the Volunteers. Tennessee hosts UAB the week after facing Georgia and hosts Arkansas the week before it travels to Alabama.

Outlook

If Tennessee’s defense is anywhere close to how good it was last season, the offense’s (potential) struggles won’t matter. Quarterback play will be heavily scrutinized in Knoxville and how to play goes will likely dictate what kind of season Tennessee has in 2025.

The Game

Date: Saturday, September 27
Time: Flex Window
TV: TBD
Location: Davis Wade Stadium, Starkville, Miss.

The Team

Head Coach: Josh Heupel (37-15, 5th season)
Offensive Coordinator: Joey Halzle (3rd season)
Defensive Coordinator: Tim Banks (5th season)
2024 Record: 10-3 overall, 6-2 SEC
2024 Final Rankings: No. 7 CFP, No. 9 AP, No. 8 Coaches

The School

Location: Knoxville, Tenn.
Founded: 1794
Enrollment: 38,728
Nickname: Volunteers
School Colors: Orange and white
Mascot: Smokey

The Program

Series History: Tennessee leads 30-16-1
Last Meeting: Tennessee 33, Mississippi State 14 (2024)
Last Conference Title: 1998
Last Bowl Game Win: def. Iowa, 35-0, 2023 Citrus Bowl

The Schedule

August 30: vs. Syracuse, Aflac Kickoff Game, Atlanta, Ga.
September 6: vs. East Tennessee State
September 13: vs. Georgia*
September 20: vs. UAB
September 27: at Mississippi State*
October 18: at Alabama*
October 25: at Kentucky*
November 1: vs. Oklahoma*
November 15: vs. New Mexico State
November 22: at Florida*
November 29: vs. Vanderbilt*

*Denotes a conference game