Tennessee Football Coach Josh Heupel Discusses His Thoughts on Not Playing Georgia and Florida

What Tennessee Vols football coach Josh Heupel had to say about not playing Georgia and Florida this season.

Jul 20, 2026; Tampa, FL, USA; Tennessee Volunteers head coach Josh Heupel speaks to the press during SEC Football Kickoff Media Day at the Tampa Marriott. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Tennessee Volunteers have a massive season ahead, but this season things are looking a bit different. The Vols won't be playing some of the teams that they are big rivals with, as the new format of SEC conference play has changed, as each team having the same three rivals that they will play every single season.

As for the Vols, they will be playing the Alabama Crimson Tide, Vanderbilt Commodores, and Kentucky Wildcats every year until something changes, but this means that two important games that they usually play will now be off the list. Those two games are against the Florida Gators and the Georgia Bulldogs.

This was something that was discussed by Josh Heupel, as he was questioned about not playing the two programs and his thoughts on the new landscape of things. Here is what he had to say about the new format while at SEC Media Day on Monday.

Josh Heupel Shares His Thoughts

Jul 20, 2026; Tampa, FL, USA; Tennessee Volunteers head coach Josh Heupel speaks to the press during SEC Football Kickoff Media Day at the Tampa Marriott. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

"Yeah, I think rivalry games absolutely matter. I think one of the unique things that Tennessee is a different era of our fan base kind of points to a different game, could be the Florida game, Alabama game, some other teams as well. I think the passion, the tradition of some of the games are what make college football unique. But I do also like that, you know, as a program and for your fan base, you're gonna have the opportunity, you know, every four years to go to every stadium inside of the SEC footprint," Josh Heupel stated during his SEC Media Day session on Monday.

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