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Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel jogs across the field during Tennessee football preseason practice, in Knoxville, Tennessee, July 31, 2025. Caitie McMekin/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Predicting Tennessee Football's 2025 Season

Originally posted on Tennessee Volunteers on SI
By Caleb Sisk | Last updated Aug 27, 2025 1:10 PM ET

The Tennessee Volunteers are set to begin their season soon, as their first game is set for kickoff on Saturday. They will be taking on the Syracuse Orange inside the Atlanta Falcons' home stadium (Mercedes-Benz Stadium).

Prior to the season, the staff got together to share their predictions. Here is what each writer had to say.

Caleb Sisk - 9-3

I was battling between 8-4 and 9-3, but ultimately I have the Vols winning a game that the majority of reporters seem to think they will lose.

The Vols are young, and that will be a story to tell, but the main concern is the loss of talent to the transfer portal. I believe that the prediction I have slotted them is their ceiling, while their floor could be as low as just seven wins.

Heupel and his staff do enough to get a nine win season, but they miss the playoffs in 2025.

Syracuse (Win)
ETSU (Win)
Georgia (Loss)
UAB (Win)
Mississippi State (Win)
BYE
Arkansas (Win)
Alabama (Loss)
Kentucky (Win)
Oklahoma (Win)
BYE
New Mexico State (Win)
Florida (Loss)
Vanderbilt (Win)

Dale Dowden - 8-4

There are many questions still to be answered by this youthful Tennessee football team. They have some explosive components that are in play, and if things go as planned, the Vols could finish the season with a better record.

As new/young as this team is going to be in certain positions, going 8-4 or better will be a huge credit to this staff on how well they have gotten this team ready to perform.

Syracuse (Win)
ETSU (Win)
Georgia (Loss)
UAB (Win)
Mississippi State (Win)
BYE
Arkansas (Win)
Alabama (Loss)
Kentucky (Win)
Oklahoma (Loss)
BYE
New Mexico State (Win)
Florida (Loss)
Vanderbilt (Win)

Shayne Pickering - 8-4

Tennessee will have a young football team this year that will come with some growing pains, but the schedule is very workable and balanced.

The team should improve throughout the year as they gain maturity but it could be hard to beat the top teams on their schedule.

The defense will keep them in most to all game and the offense should still run as a Josh Heupel unit does, but the ceiling will be determined by how explosive the offense can be and the turnover battle.

Josh Greer - 9-3

Tennessee’s wide receiver group may be young, but I expect them to pick things up quickly as the season progresses. The early games will provide valuable experience, and by the second half of the year they should be a reliable and dangerous unit. The running backs will be the steady force of this offense, providing depth, consistency, and the ability to control games when needed. On the other side of the ball, I believe in this defense. With the talent and toughness they bring, this group is capable of keeping the Vols in every matchup.

With developing receivers, a strong backfield, and a dependable defense, a 9–3 season feels well within reach. If this team comes together the way I expect, Tennessee will surprise a lot of people.