FB PREVIEW: #7 Vols Head North For Playoff Battle Against #6 Buckeyes

COLUMBUS, Ohio – After three weeks of rest and preparation, the time has finally come for no. 7 in Tennessee’s College Football Playoff debut as it travels north to take on No. 6 Ohio State on Saturday night in primetime at Ohio Stadium.

Saturday night’s first-round matchup in Columbus will mark the Volunteers’ first-ever road game against a Big 10 team at the time of the meeting, as well as the program’s first time playing a game in the state of Ohio.

In the first year of the expanded 12-team playoff, UT enters as the No. 9 seed after posting a 10-2 record overall with a 6-2 mark in the Southeastern Conference, while the Buckeyes are the No. 8 seed after finishing 10th-2 overall, including a 7-2 record in the Big 10.

The complete 2024 CFP bracket can be found HERE.

DISPATCH INFO

Saturday’s game will be televised nationally on ABC and ESPN with Chris Fowler (PxP), Kirk Herbstreit (Analyst), Marty Smith (Field Reporter) and Holly Rowe (Field Reporter) on the call. Coverage is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. ET.

The game will also feature an ESPN Megacast with several ancillary broadcasts on the ESPN family of networks, all of which are listed below.

Main broadcast (ABC & ESPN): CONNECTION
McAfee Field Pass (ESPN2): CONNECTION
Command Center (ESPNU): CONNECTION
SkyCast (ESPNews): CONNECTION
SkyCast 2 with Vol Network (SEC Network): CONNECTION
Spanish broadcast (ESPN Deportes): CONNECTION
Halftime Band Performances (ESPN3): CONNECTION

Fans can listen to Tennessee’s official radio broadcast on the Vol Network (Local: WIVK-FM 107.7/WNML-FM 99.1) over 65 stations across the state of Tennessee and the Southeast, SiriusXM (Ch. 82) and the SiriusXM app (Ch. 82 ), as well as the Varsity App. A live audio stream of the broadcast will also be available on UTSports.com and the Tennessee Athletics App. Fans attending the game are encouraged to listen to the radio broadcast via the Vol Network Stadiumcast on 91.1 FM. The broadcast will also be part of the SEC Network’s SkyCast.

Bob Kesling (PxP), VFL Pat Ryan (Analyst) and Brent Hubbs (Analyst) will call the action, with VFL Jayson Swain handling the sideline for the Vol Network radio broadcast. The Big Orange Countdown pregame show begins two hours before kickoff at 6 p.m. ET. The pregame show hosts John Wilkerson, Hubbs, Swain and a rotating VFL special guest each week. The Vol Network celebrates its 75th anniversary in 2024.

The Spanish broadcast is available locally on WNML-AM 990 with Carlos Lopez (play-by-play) and VFL Fuad Reveiz on the call.

The SEC Network will be on site at Ohio Stadium. A special edition of Marty & McGee airs at 6 p.m. followed by SEC Now at 19.00

GAME DAY INFORMATION

Fans are encouraged to visit OhioStateBuckeyes.com for information about game day.

In addition, fans should be aware of Ohio Stadium bag policy – bags or purses of any size are NOT allowed in Ohio Stadium. Purses, clutches or wristbands no larger than 5″ x 8″ x 1″ are permitted. Fans should also be aware that Ohio Stadium is a CASHLESS meeting place. Concession stands accept debit cards, credit cards, Apple Pay and Google Pay.

All fans who have purchased tickets through Tennessee Athletics’ Official Allotment are encouraged to enter through Gate 6.

MUST KNOW

Vols Set to Make CFP Debut

Tennessee will make its first appearance in the College Football Playoff this Saturday night when it takes on Ohio State at The Shoe. The contest will be the Vols’ first game at Ohio State and just their second ever meeting with the Buckeyes. The winner of Saturday’s game advances to the CFP quarterfinals to take on No. 1 seed Oregon in the Rose Bowl Game on Jan. 1 in Pasadena, California.

D-Samp, SEC Offensive Player of the Year
Junior runs back Dylan Sampson has orchestrated one of the most prolific rushing seasons in SEC history and was recognized by being named the SEC Offensive Player of the Year by the league’s coaches and the Associated Press. Sampson has also earned All-America honors from seven different outlets after setting four single-season program records.

The Baton Rouge, Louisiana native enters this weekend’s contest with a Tennessee record 22 rushing touchdowns, a mark that leads the Power Four and ranks fourth nationally as well as tied for fifth in SEC history with LSU’s Leonard Fournette (2015). Sampson has found pay dirt at least once in 11 games this season and has scored multiple touchdowns seven different times. He ranks second in program history for career rushing touchdowns with 35 and is just two more away from tying Gene McEver’s record of 37 from 1928-31.

Sampson also enters the CFP first-round game at Ohio State as the SEC’s leading rusher with 1,485 yards, another single-season program record, after he ran for a career-high 178 yards in the regular-season finale at Vanderbilt to surpass Travis Stephens previous record of 1,464 yards in 2001.

Championship Caliber Defense
Led by defensive coordinator and Broyles Award finalist Tim BanksThe Vols have boasted one of the nation’s best defensive units all year, ranking among the FBS leaders in scoring defense (t-4th – 13.9), yards per carry. plays allowed (4th – 4.33), total defense (4th – 278.3), third down defense (5th – 29.5), tackles for loss (7th – 7.8), rushing defense (8th – 99.6) and red zone defense (11. – 73.5).

Tennessee has held its opponents to under 20 points in 11 of its last 13 games dating back to last season’s 35-0 Citrus Bowl shutout of Iowa. During that stretch, the Vols have posted three shutouts, including two this season (71-0 vs. Kent State on Sept. 14 and 56-0 vs. UTEP on Nov. 23). It is the first time UT has recorded multiple shutouts in a season since the final two regular season games in 2002 against Vanderbilt and Kentucky. Tennessee and Texas are the only SEC teams to hold 10 of their opponents under 20 points this season.

Nico is playing his best football
Quarterback Nico Iamaleava enters Saturday’s game playing his best football of the season. The redshirt freshman has passed for four touchdowns in back-to-back games, becoming the first UT player to do so since Tyler Bray did it in three straight games during the 2012 season.

Iamaleava is the first Tennessee freshman quarterback in school history — true or redshirt — to win 10 games in a season as a starter. He is also the first UT signal caller to do so overall since Casey Clausen posted a 10-3 record as a senior in 2003. Iamaleava is looking to become the first Vols’ quarterback to win at least 11 games in a season as a starter since Clausen went 11-2 as a sophomore in 2001.

Success without conference
Tennessee enters Saturday’s contest with a 14-game nonconference winning streak, the longest since winning 27 straight against non-SEC foes from 1969-73. The current streak dates back to a Sept. 1, 2022, season-opening win over Ball State. The Vols’ last non-conference loss was to Purdue in the 2021 Music City Bowl.

Under head coach Josh HeupelUT is 17-2 in non-conference games and has outscored its opponents 950-246. The Vols have also won their last four against non-conference ranked teams (at No. 17 Pitt, vs. No. 10 Clemson, vs. No. 20 Iowa, vs. No. 24 NC State). Since the start of the 2022 season, Tennessee is 14-0 against non-conference teams. Only Georgia (15-0) owns a better non-conference record in the FBS during that span. The Big Orange are looking for their first road win over a non-conference top-10 team since beating No. 6, 10-6, in Miami on November 8, 2003.

ESPN College GameDay on site
For the third time this season, ESPN College GameDay will be on site for a Tennessee road game. Saturday marks the Vols’ 27th^th also all-time performance in the show. In the previous five College GameDay appearances for the Big Orange under head coach Josh Heupelthey have posted a 3-2 record with wins over Oklahoma (2024), Alabama (2022) and Florida (2022).

SERIES HISTORY

Tennessee leads the series, 1-0

The Vols and Buckeyes meet for just the second time in the two programs’ history when they meet on Saturday night. Tennessee won the only previous contest in the series, posting a 20–14 victory in a matchup of top-five teams at the 1996 Citrus Bowl in Orlando.

Running back Jay Graham was named the game’s MVP after rushing for 154 yards and a touchdown, while quarterback Peyton Manning passed for 182 yards and a score, connecting with star wideout Joey Kent seven times for 109 yards.

ABOUT THE STATE OF OHIO

Ohio State is making its sixth College Football Playoff appearance in program history, tied for third in the FBS behind Alabama (eight) and Clemson (seven). The Buckeyes are one of six teams to win a national championship in the CFP era and made the first-ever playoff appearance in 2014. They are led by head coach Ryan Day, who has posted an impressive 66-10 overall record during his time in Columbus.

The Buckeyes are led by one of the nation’s most dominant defenses, ranked No. 1 nationally in points per tackles allowed (10.9), yards per tackles allowed (241.1) and red zone defense (55.2). All-American safety Caleb Downs leads the Ohio State defense with 61 total tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, three pass breakups and an interception. Junior linebacker Sonny Styles leads the team with 76 total tackles, while senior defensive end JT Tuimoloau has wreaked havoc on the edge with a team-high 11.5 TFLs and six sacks.

Offensively, OSU is 16th^th in the country in scoring, with an average of 35.5 points per match. The Buckeyes have a balanced offense, having passed for 3,052 yards and rushed for 2,030 yards on the year. The dynamic backfield duo of Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson have combined for 1,556 yards and 14 touchdowns on the ground this season. Quarterback Will Howard has also been effective, completing 73 percent of his passes for 2,860 yards and 27 touchdowns with just eight interceptions. Ohio State boasts one of the nation’s most talented receiving corps with the trio of Jeremiah Smith (57 rec., 934 yds, 10 TD), Emeka Egbuka (60 rec., 743 yds, 9 TD) and Carnell Tate (41 rec. , 583 yds , 4 TD) leading.