Tennessee Vols 2024 SEC football schedule release: What immediately stands out

Early non-conference action

The Vols will open against Chattanooga on August 31 at Neyland Stadium.  The following week, the Vols face a potential challenge in NC State at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina.  The Wolfpack reportedly secured the services of QB Grayson McCall on Wednesday, who entered the transfer portal from Coastal Carolina. 

The Vols host Kent State on September 14 at Neyland Stadium, which is the final non-conference tune up before SEC play begins. 

Welcome to the SEC, Oklahoma

The Vols will serve as the Sooners' opponent for their first-ever SEC game on September 21 in Norman, Oklahoma.  

Josh Heupel will have plenty of motivation in this one, as he was fired while at Oklahoma by former head coach Bob Stoops in 2014.  Not that he and the Vols will need it, as playing at Oklahoma in what will be a tone setter for the season in likely a prime TV slot should offer plenty of motivation for Tennessee.  

But the ol' "win one for the Gipper" mentality never hurt to have either. 

Vols hit a patch of bye weeks and home games

The Vols, like all SEC teams, get two bye weeks this season with only 8 SEC games.  Tennessee's first bye will be on September 28.  Then, the Vols travel to Arkansas to take on the Hogs on October 5.  

Then a streak of four straight home games begins, with two massive games coming in back-to-back weeks.  The Florida Gators come to Knoxville on October 12, and the Alabama Crimson Tide visit on October 19.  The Third Saturday in October's nickname retains its true meaning. 

After a second bye week on October 26, the Vols again host back-to-back home games against Kentucky on November 2 and Mississippi State on November 9. 

Another late-season date with Georgia

The Vols then travel to Athens, Georgia for their biggest road game of the season.  The Vols and Bulldogs played for years in October, but more recently the schools have been playing in early to mid-November, and that trend appears to be continuing in 2024.  

It remains to be seen if these schools will continue to play annually beyond 2024 (seems highly unlikely since UT will almost certainly keep Bama as an annual rival; no way the SEC would stick UT with both juggernauts).  As such, there's a chance this could be the last annual matchup between the schools before regular rotations begin in 2025 and beyond. 

Two layups to finish it off

The Vols should be able to coast to the finish line with a final home game against UTEP on November 23.  Tennessee will finish its regular season on November 30 at Vanderbilt, where Vol fans regularly turn Commodore Stadium into a sea of orange. 

In summary, it's a challenging schedule, of course, but it's one that's laid out relatively well.  Two of the first three games are gimmies, as are the final two of the season.  The Vols get four straight games at home.  The bye weeks are set up very nicely at the end of September and October.  

And Tennessee's season will largely be summed up in a week's time from October 12 to October 19.  Win both like 2022, and it could be a special year.  Win one, and things still could be good.  Lose both, and it's very likely a lost season in Knoxville.