The Vols’ 2019 football season hasn’t even begun yet, but we already know what Tennessee’s 2020 football schedule looks like.
Tennessee officially announced the full 2020 schedule for UT’s football team on Wednesday afternoon, and it’s a bit different than what Vol fans have come to expect from Tennessee’s slate of football match-ups.
The Vols begin the season at home on September 5th when they host the Charlotte 49ers. The two teams played in Jeremy Pruitt’s first year as head coach last season, with Tennessee prevailing 14-3 in Knoxville. After that, Tennessee will travel to Norman, Oklahoma to face the Oklahoma Sooners on September 12th. Tennessee traveled to Norman back in 2014 and lost that contest as well as their match-up in Neyland Stadium the next season in 2015.
After that, Tennessee will host Furman on September 19th, marking the first time since 1942 that the two teams have played in football. Then, the SEC schedule gets going.
Tennessee begins SEC play on September 26th when they host the Florida Gators. As usual, the Gators will be the Vols’ first conference match-up of the season. The only time in recent memory that hasn’t been the case was in 2014 when the Vols traveled to Athens, Georgia to face the Bulldogs as their first SEC game of the year.
Normally, Tennessee faces off with Georgia for their next game after taking on Florida. In 2020, however, things are different.
On October 3rd, Tennessee will host Missouri, and the two will play outside the month of November for the first time since the Tigers joined the SEC in the 2012 season. After that, the Vols will travel to Columbia, South Carolina to face the Gamecocks on October 10th.
After that game, the Vols get a bye week on October 17th. Coming out of the bye, Tennessee will host Alabama on October 24th for the Third Saturday in October. Following the annual rivalry game is a trip to Fayetteville, Arkansas for a match-up against the Razorbacks on October 31st. Those two conference foes last played in 2015, with Arkansas prevailing in Knoxville.
The last month of the season sees Tennessee stay inside their own state borders for three of their four final games. The Vols host Kentucky on November 7th before traveling to Georgia to take on the Bulldogs on November 14th. The 2020 season will mark the first time since 1969 that the Bulldogs and Vols have faced off in November.
After that, Tennessee hosts Troy on November 21st, marking only the second time the two teams have played (with the last being the infamous 55-48 UT victory in 2012), and the Vols close out the 2020 season in Nashville when they take on Vanderbilt.
Kick-off times will be announced at a later date.
Tennessee doesn’t have any back-to-back road games in 2020, and eight of their 12 games will be played inside their own state borders. The Vols also don’t have their typical late September through October gauntlet where they usually face Florida, Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, and another SEC West opponent. In 2020, Tennessee faces Florida and Missouri at home, travels to South Carolina, gets a bye week, then hosts Alabama and travels to Arkansas.
Here’s a full look at Tennessee’s 2020 football schedule:
- Sept. 5 — Charlotte
- Sept. 12 — at Oklahoma
- Sept. 19 — Furman
- Sept. 26 — Florida
- Oct. 3 — Missouri
- Oct. 10 — at South Carolina
- Oct. 24 — Alabama
- Oct. 31 — at Arkansas
- Nov. 7 – Kentucky
- Nov. 14 — at Georgia
- Nov. 21 — Troy
- Nov. 28 — at Vanderbilt
