Tennessee Volunteers football rivalries refers to the college football rivalries for the University of Tennessee in the sport of college football. As one of college football's winningest teams, and a founding member of the SEC in 1933, Tennessee has developed several long and historic rivalries.
Historical rivals Throughout their history, Tennessee has developed three main historical rivals, who they have played over 100 times each. These series are with Alabama, Kentucky, and Vanderbilt.
Alabama
Despite the heated in-state rivalry with Auburn, former Alabama head coach Bear Bryant was more adamant about defeating his rivals to the north, the Tennessee Vols. The series is named the Third Saturday in October, the date on which the game was historically played. Despite the name, the game was played on the third Saturday just five times between 1995 and 2007.
The first game between the two sides was played in 1901 in Birmingham, ending in a 6–6 tie. From 1902 to 1913, Alabama dominated the series, losing only once, and never allowing a touchdown by the Volunteers. Beginning in 1928, the rivalry was first played on its traditional date and began to be a challenge for the Tide as Robert Neyland began competing with Alabama for their perennial spot on top of the conference standings.
In the 1950s, Jim Goostree, the head trainer for Alabama, began a tradition by handing out cigars following a victory over the Volunteers.
Between 1971 and 1981, Alabama held an 11-game winning streak over the Volunteers and, between 1986 and 1994, a nine-game unbeaten streak. However, following Alabama's streak, Tennessee responded with a seven-game winning streak from 1995 to 2001.
On October 25, 2003, Tennessee defeated Alabama at Bryant-Denny Stadium 51-43 after 5 overtimes. Quarterback Casey Clausen scored the winning touchdown on a 1-yard sneak across the goal line. This was the most overtimes against Alabama in program history and the second most overall after a 41–38 win over Arkansas in 6 overtimes on October 5, 2002.
Alabama won 15 consecutive games from 2007 to 2021. In 2022, #6 Tennessee won 52–49 on a last second field goal to claim its first game against #3 Alabama in 16 years. The win kept Tennessee undefeated, and fans stormed the field of Neyland Stadium in celebration Alabama is Tennessee's third most-played opponent, after Kentucky and Vanderbilt. Tennessee is Alabama's second-most played opponent after Mississippi State.
Kentucky
Tennessee and Kentucky have played each other 118 times over 130 years, making it one of the oldest series in major college football. The two schools are each other's most commonly played opponent. The game is usually played in November, as one of the last two games of the season. Only 7 of their meetings have played outside that month, although 4 of these instances have occurred since 2015. Tennessee has dominated the series historically, leading 84–26–9 (). Current Kentucky Coach Mark Stoops Stoops holds a 2–9 record vs. Tennessee, while Josh Heupel is 3–0.
Tennessee Kentucky game is unique in that it is Tennessee's only rivalry series to have exchanged a trophy to the winner: a wooden beer barrel painted half blue and half orange. The trophy was awarded to the winner of the game every year from 1925 to 1997. The Barrel was introduced in 1925 by a group of former Kentucky students who wanted to create a material sign of supremacy for the rivalry. It was rolled onto the field that year with the words "Ice Water" painted on it to avoid any outcries over a beer keg symbolizing a college rivalry during the Prohibition era. After losing to Kentucky in 1953, a group of Tennessee students stole the barrel, prompting Kentucky students to steal Tennessee's mascot Smokey for a short time before both sides yielded. The barrel was again stolen from Kentucky in 1960 when a group of Vanderbilt students before a basketball game between the two schools before being returned. The barrel exchange ended in 1998 after two Kentucky football players died in an alcohol-related crash. The barrel is believed to be in possession of Tennessee who won the last meeting before the trophy was retired.
From 1985 to 2010, Tennessee held a 26-game winning streak over Kentucky, until 2011 when the Wildcats beat UT 10–7 in Lexington. The 2020 meeting featured a pandemic-era capacity reduced crowd where Kentucky won its first game in Neyland stadium since 1984. Despite the 118 meetings between the two teams, they have meet with both teams ranked in the Top 25 only three times (1950, 1951, 2022), all three which were won by Tennessee. Notably, the 1950 meeting allowed both teams to finish with 11–1 records. The two teams met on one of the coldest days in Knoxville history, with a kickoff temperature of around 5 degrees. Notably, Kentucky coach Bear Bryant opted for his team to reject wearing layers of clothes as he believed it slowed them down. Tennessee instead wore thick layers and used heating equipment on the sideline. The game featured 18 turnovers, in part fueled by snow throughout the game. A 2nd quarter touchdown by Tennessee receiver Bert Rechichar on a 4th and long proved the difference in a Tennessee 7–0 win. The loss was the only one for Kentucky all year, and denied them a consensus national championship. Notably, both schools claim a share of the national championship for that season.
Vanderbilt
Vanderbilt and Tennessee have played 118 times since 1892, with Tennessee holding an all-time winning record of 77–32–5. Tennessee is Vanderbilt's most played opponent, while it is the second most played series for Tennessee, trailing Kentucky by just one game (although Tennessee–Vanderbilt is one year older). Since 1925, the series has always been played in November or December, and is traditionally the last game of the season, played on the weekend after Thanksgiving.
When the rivalry first started, Vanderbilt dominated by taking 19 of the first 24 with three ties (). Vanderbilt and Tennessee played two games in 1892, both won by Vanderbilt. Tennessee's first victory over Vanderbilt was the 1914 meeting in Knoxville, by a score of 16–14. From 1892 to 1927, Vanderbilt out-scored Tennessee 561–83 (23.4) to (3.4). In 1926, chairman of the UT Athletic Council Nathan Dougherty instructed newly hired coach Robert Neyland to even the score with Vanderbilt. Neyland went on to do just that, beginning an era where Tennessee became far and away the superior team.
Since the 1928 season, UT has dominated the rivalry, although Vanderbilt found more success in a stretch from 2012 to 2017, where the Commodores won 5 out of 7 games against the Vols. Some notable meetings from this stretch include the 2012 Vanderbilt win which resulted in the firing of Derek Dooley the next day. The 2016 game which saw 8–3, #17 Tennessee lose 45–34 to a 5–6 Vanderbilt team which cost the Vols a bid to the Sugar Bowl, and ensured Vanderbilt's bowl eligibility. Additionally, the 2017 Vanderbilt win gave Tennessee their first ever season with 8 losses, and their first season where they went winless in SEC play. Finally, the 2018 meeting was a contest of two 5–6 teams fighting for bowl eligibility. Vanderbilt won 38–13 marking their first three-game winning streak in the series since 1926. Tennessee has since won 4 games in a row, with the most recent 2022 win coming at a score of 56–0 to reach 10 wins for the first time since 2003 while dropping Vanderbilt to 5–7 and prevent the Commodores from reaching a bowl game. The next meeting is scheduled for November 25, 2023.
SEC expansion–era rivalries Since the formation of the SEC Eastern Division in 1992, the Vols have had important rivalries with Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina. These four teams have combined to win the SEC East in all but two seasons (Missouri: 2013 & 2014), and these series are often crucial in determining the East winner.
Florida
The Gators and Vols first met on the gridiron in 1916, and have competed in the same conference since Florida joined Tennessee in the now-defunct Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association in 1912. However, a true rivalry has developed only relatively recently due to infrequent match-ups in past decades; in the first 76 years (1916–1991), the two teams met just 21 times. This changed in 1992, when the Southeastern Conference (SEC) expanded to 12 universities and split into two divisions. Florida and Tennessee were both placed in the SEC's Eastern Division, and have met annually on the football field since 1992. The rivalry quickly blossomed in intensity and importance, as both squads were perennial championship contenders throughout the 1990s. The first 10 SEC Championship Games, and 15 of the first 18, included either Tennessee or Florida from the East, and the game frequently proved pivotal to deciding the division champion.
The games' national implications diminished in the 2000s, as first Tennessee and then Florida suffered through sub-par seasons. However, the intensity of each meeting still remains one of the highest in college football. Starting in 2005, Florida went on an 11-game win streak as Tennessee struggled under coaches Derek Dooley and Butch Jones. The game did receive national interest again in 2016 and 2017, where both matchups featured ranked teams, with Tennessee ending Florida's steak in Knoxville in 2016. However, Florida again took control winning 5 straight from 2017 to 2021. The most recent matchup saw #8 Tennessee defeat Florida 23–17 in overtime on October 12, 2024. Florida leads the series 32–22 through the 2024 season, with the next meeting set in 2025. The future of the rivalry is uncertain following recent SEC Expansion, and the end of the SEC East, which could end annual meetings between the two schools. They were selected to meet in 2024 and 2025 as part of and SEC effort to protect current rivalries while determining a permanent scheduling model.
Georgia
The Bulldogs and Vols first met in 1899, a UT victory in Knoxville. The teams played sporadically over the next several years before playing five straight games from 1907 to 1910, four straight from 1922 to 1925, and then putting the rivalry on hiatus for more than 30 years after the 1937 game in Knoxville, a UT victory. When the two played each other in 1968 in Knoxville, the game ended in a tie (only the second tie game after the 1906 game in Athens). This game was the first game where artificial turf was installed at Neyland Stadium. The two teams continued to play each other sporadically through the 1970s and '80s, with Georgia winning four straight games from 1973 to 1988. The Volunteers won at home against the Bulldogs in 1989, the last meeting between the two teams before the SEC split the conference into two divisions, and left Georgia with the series lead 10–9–2.