Tennessee Football Has Top 10 Toughest Schedule According to ESPN FPI Rankings

Josh Heupel is entering his third season as the head coach of the Tennessee Volunteers football team. Heupel achieved a 7-6 record in his first year before jumping all the way up to an 11-2 record in his second year.

Now, as Tennessee moves on with the keys to the Ferrari in the hands of QB Joe Milton III, the Vols will have a tough road to navigate ahead.

ESPN released its Football Power Index (FPI) schedule rankings to start the week. One of the categories in ESPN’s statistics is remaining schedule strength. So, with all 12 regular season games still on the horizon, it is just simply the strength of schedule.

Tennessee has the 8th toughest schedule in the country according to ESPN’s FPI services. Additionally, Tennessee has the fifth toughest schedule in the SEC and the second toughest from the SEC East behind Florida.

The Top 10 hardest schedules, according to FPI, are as follows:

1. Ole Miss (SEC)
2. Minnesota (Big Ten)
3. Florida (SEC)
4. Maryland (Big Ten)
5. Auburn (SEC)
6. Arkansas (SEC)
7. Michigan State (Big Ten)
8. Tennessee (SEC)
9. Rutgers (Big Ten)
10. Indiana (Big Ten)

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It’s absolutely not shocking that all of the teams in the Top 10 are from the Big Ten or the SEC. The teams that have to play the likes of Ohio State, Michigan, and Penn State and the teams that have to play the likes of Alabama, LSU, and Georgia are certainly going to have the toughest matchups throughout the year.

Tennessee ended the 2022 season with the No. 7 strength of schedule according to ESPN’s same FPI metrics. Seven of the eight toughest schedules last season were from SEC teams thanks to resurgent years from Tennessee and LSU, among others.

All 14 SEC teams land within the Top 31 toughest schedules in the country. Other notable numbers include South Carolina at No. 11, Kentucky at No. 13, Alabama at No. 18, and Georgia at the very bottom of the conference with the 31st toughest schedule in the country.

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Here’s a look at the 2023 schedule for Josh Heupel and the Tennessee Volunteers:

Week 1 – Virginia vs Tennessee

• Saturday, Sept. 2
• Time: TBD
• Location: Nissan Stadium – Nashville, TN

Week 2 – Austin Peay @ Tennessee

• Saturday, Sept. 9
• Time: TBD
• Location: Neyland Stadium – Knoxville, TN

Week 3 – Tennessee @ Florida

• Saturday, Sept. 16
• Time: TBD
• Location: Ben Hill Griffin Stadium – Gainesville, FL

Week 4 – UT San Antonio @ Tennessee

• Saturday, Sept. 23
• Time: TBD
• Location: Neyland Stadium – Knoxville, TN

Week 5 – South Carolina @ Tennessee

• Saturday, Sept. 30
• Time: TBD
• Location: Neyland Stadium – Knoxville, TN

Week 6 – BYE

• Saturday, Oct. 7
• Tennessee had their bye during week 9 in 2021
• Tennessee had their bye during week 5 in 2022

Week 7 – Texas A&M @ Tennessee

• Saturday, Oct. 14
• Time: TBD
• Location: Neyland Stadium – Knoxville, TN

Week 8 – Tennessee @ Alabama

• Saturday, Oct. 21
• Time: TBD
• Location: Bryant-Denny Stadium – Tuscaloosa, AL

Week 9 – Tennessee @ Kentucky

• Saturday, Oct. 28
• Time: TBD
• Location: Kroger Field – Lexington, KY

Week 10 – UConn @ Tennessee

• Saturday, Nov. 4
• Time: TBD
• Location: Neyland Stadium – Knoxville, TN

Week 11 – Tennessee @ Missouri

• Saturday, Nov. 11
• Time: TBD
• Location: Memorial Stadium – Columbia, MO

Week 12 – Georgia @ Tennessee

• Saturday, Nov. 18
• Time: TBD
• Location: Neyland Stadium – Knoxville, TN

Week 13 – Vanderbilt @ Tennessee

• Saturday, Nov. 25
• Time: TBD
• Location: Neyland Stadium – Knoxville, TN