The last few weeks of July can fairly be thought of as the calm before the storm of the 2024 college football season.
With SEC Media Days wrapping up on Thursday from Dallas, all that stands in the way of now and the start of the college football season is training camp this August. Tennessee’s Josh Heupel spoke about the anticipation of getting the guys flying around the field this fall as the Vols look to take a step forward in Year 4 of the Heupel Era.
Tennessee had a historic athletics season during the 2023-2024 year, capping it off with the Vols’ first-ever college baseball National Championship. There’s a lot of buzz around Knoxville right now as fans start to funnel their energy toward the upcoming football season with seven home games from Neyland Stadium on the horizon.
But is Tennessee’s Neyland Stadium being undervalued this summer?
According to Tennessee Athletics, the Volunteers are rolling with a 13-game sold-out streak heading into the season-opener against Chattanooga on Aug. 31. Moreso, Tennessee also led the SEC in total attendance and average attendance during the 2023 season despite taking seats out of the stadium during the 2022 stadium renovations.
Tennessee also ranked third in total home attendance and fourth in average home attendance nationwide during the season.
The Vols also had stadium gimmicks – maybe “fan enhancements” is a better way to put it – that captured the nation’s attention. From Checker Neyland to Dark Mode on Rocky Top, Tennessee has a couple of sharp fan-participation games each season that elevate the stadium presence.
Despite all of that, though, Tennessee’s stadium might not be ranked as highly as some would expect.
EA College Sports 25, the video game that is sweeping the nation this summer, has Neyland Stadium as the 13th toughest stadium to play in the country. Tennessee ranks behind six other SEC programs including No. 1 Texas A&M, No. 2 Alabama, No. 3 LSU, No. 5 Georgia, No. 8 Oklahoma, and No. 10 Florida.
But while EA CFB25 has six SEC teams in the Top 10 of toughest stadiums, the conference holds less weight in ESPN’s ranking. ESPN only has three SEC teams in the Top 10 of their Top 25 College Football Stadiums list on Thursday with LSU at No. 1, Alabama at No. 9, and Tennessee’s Neyland Stadium at No. 10.
Tennessee might be getting undervalued but ultimately without just going by capacity or another static metric, it’s all just based on opinion, where you’ve been, and what you’ve seen.
What’s more important than rankings and lists, though, is Tennessee’s performance at home during the critical 2024 college football season. The Vols will begin their season with two home games in the first three weeks before a road stretch spanning Oklahoma and Arkansas with an open date in between. Tennessee then fires off four straight home games around a second open date against Florida, Alabama, Kentucky, and Mississippi State. The Vols will take on UTEP in their final home game in the penultimate game of the regular season to round out the home slate.
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Here’s a look at Tennessee Football’s schedule this fall with home games in bold:
Aug. 31 – vs Chattanooga
Sep. 7 – vs NC State Wolfpack* (Charlotte, NC)
Sep. 14 – vs Kent State
Sep. 21 – at Oklahoma
Sep. 28 – OPEN
Oct. 5 – at Arkansas
Oct. 12 – vs Florida
Oct. 19 – vs Alabama
Oct. 26 – OPEN
Nov. 2 – vs Kentucky
Nov. 9 – vs Mississippi State
Nov. 16 – at Georgia
Nov. 23 – vs UTEP
No. 30 – at Vanderbilt
