Tennessee football will host Georgia in its 2025 SEC opener in a clash of two College Football Playoff teams.
The game will be played Sept. 13 at Neyland Stadium, which was announced with the SEC schedule release on Wednesday. SEC teams will play the same opponents as the 2024 season, but home and away will flip.
A game against Georgia is a challenging start to the Vols’ SEC schedule. The Bulldogs have won eight straight in the series.
Tough road games will come later in the season.
Tennessee will play at Alabama on Oct. 18, upholding its traditional Third Saturday in October rivalry game for at least one more season. And the Vols will play Florida in The Swamp on Nov. 22.
Here’s the full 2025 schedule and a couple of observations.
Tennessee football 2025 schedule
- Aug. 30: vs. Syracuse (Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game in Atlanta)
- Sept. 6: vs. ETSU
- Sept. 13: vs. Georgia*
- Sept. 20: vs. UAB
- Sept. 27: at Mississippi State*
- Oct. 11: Arkansas*
- Oct. 18: at Alabama*
- Oct. 25: at Kentucky*
- Nov. 1: vs. Oklahoma*
- Nov. 15: vs. New Mexico State
- Nov. 22: at Florida*
- Nov. 29: Vanderbilt*
*SEC game
Rivals remain on schedule at least one more year
The SEC will stick with an eight-game conference schedule in 2025, keeping rivals Florida, Alabama, Kentucky and Vanderbilt on Tennessee’s slate for at least one more season.
There’s no guarantee beyond that.
If the SEC goes to a nine-game schedule in 2026, some of those games will no longer be annual matchups.
In the so-called 3-6 model, teams would play the same three conference rivals every season and then rotate opponents to fill the remaining six conference games.
The Vols likely would play Vanderbilt, Alabama and either South Carolina or Kentucky as permanent SEC opponents. If so, the Florida rivalry would be played in alternating years.
But the possibility of staying with an eight-game schedule in 2026 has gained momentum after the SEC only got three teams into the College Football Playoff. In that so-called 1-7 model, teams would play one permanent opponent and seven rotating conference opponents.
For Tennessee, that permanent opponent would be Vanderbilt. Its other rivals would no longer be on the schedule every season.
In an expanded 16-game league, that’s the mathematical reality.
Syracuse is no pushover for Vols opener
UT must be ready to play to start the 2025 season because it’ll face a solid Syracuse team in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Classic at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Aug. 30.
Syracuse has a 9-3 record and No. 21 CFP ranking this season, including a win over Miami. It will play Washington State in the Holiday Bowl.
The Vols will host ETSU and UAB on Sept. 6 and Sept. 20, respectively. And they’ll will host New Mexico State on Nov. 15.
The Vols have a combined 9-0 record against those nonconference opponents in their history. They are 3-0 against Syracuse, 1-0 against ETSU and 5-0 against UAB. They have never played New Mexico State.
Adam Sparks is the Tennessee football beat reporter. Email adam.sparks@knoxnews.com. X, formerly known as Twitter@AdamSparks. Support strong local journalism by subscribing at knoxnews.com/subscribe.
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