Tennessee
Where Tennessee is ranked in ESPN's College Football Preseason Power Rankings
Volquest 2-minute Drill Recaps Josh Heupel’s Presser, Injury News On Cam Seldon And More I Gbo
Tennessee Football came in at No. 14 in ESPN’s College Football Preseason Power Rankings on Monday, one spot ahead of where the Vols were ranked in both the Associated Press Preseason Top 25 and US LBM Preseason Coaches Poll.
Four opponents on Tennessee’s schedule made ESPN’s top 25, with No. 1 Georgia coming in ahead of No. 5 Alabama, No. 17 Oklahoma and No. 20 North Carolina State. Georgia was also ranked No. 1 and Alabama No. 5 in the Coaches Poll and AP Top 25.
Oklahoma was ranked 16th in both polls while North Carolina State was ranked No. 22 in the Coaches Poll and No. 24 in the AP Top 25.
“Tennessee’s 27 wins in three seasons under Josh Heupel represents the program’s best three-year run since Phil Fulmer won 28 games from 2002 to ’04,” ESPN’s Eli Lederman wrote. “Still, pressure hangs over the Volunteers, who enter 2024 with College Football Playoff expectations. Nico Iamaleava takes over under center, tasked with rejuvenating an offense that dipped from its historic 2022 levels last fall, while Dylan Sampson (5.7 yards per carry in 2023) returns in the backfield.
“There should be stability on the offensive line as LSU transfer Lance Heard settles in next to three returning starters, but Tennessee’s strength lies with a defensive line that led the SEC in tackles for loss in 2023, a group set to be powered again this fall by potential first-round draft pick James Pearce Jr.”
Tennessee was ranked No. 15 in ESPN’s final preseason SP+ rankings last week with an overall rating of 19.2, an offensive rating of 37.7, defensive rating of 18.6 and special teams ratings of 0.2.
ESPN’s Football Power Index has Tennessee ranked No. 9 overall with a projected win-loss of 8.6-3.5. The FPI gives the Vols a 95.4% chance to win at least six games, a 5.5% chance to win the SEC, a 36.9% chance to make the 12-team College Football Playoff, a 6.0% chance to make the national championship game and a 2.7% chance to win the national title.
Season Opener: No. 15 Tennessee vs. Chattanooga, August 31
Tennessee opens the season against Chattanooga on August 31 (12:45 p.m. Eastern Time, TV: SEC Network) and faces North Carolina State on September 7 in Charlotte (7:30 p.m. ET, ABC),
After hosting Kent State on September 14, the Vols open SEC play with road games at Oklahoma (September 21) and at Arkansas (October 5).
Tennessee hosts Florida and Alabama back-to-back on October 12 and October 19, respectively, then has home games against Kentucky (November 2) and Mississippi State (November 9) before going to Georgia on November 16.
“A Week 2 neutral-site meeting with NC State will be a litmus test for the Volunteers,” Lederman wrote. “Can Tennessee navigate a relatively favorable SEC schedule on the way to the program’s first College Football Playoff appearance?”
Tennessee
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Jan. 11, 2025
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For more Tennessee news stories, click here.
Tennessee
Tennessee mom loses leg in attack by her own pit bull that left limb ‘basically hanging off’
A Tennessee mom was forced to have her leg amputated after her pit bull savagely locked its jaws around the limb, leaving it “hanging on by a thread” as she tried to break up a dogfight inside her home.
Amanda Mears, 42, was preparing to take her mixed American Pit Bull-American Staffordshire, named Dennis, out for a walk when the dog lunged at Ralphie, an American Bully, after he escaped from a bedroom where he had been kept inside her Murfreesboro home, according to The Mirror.
As Mears, a health care worker, tried to intervene in the vicious attack, Dennis clamped onto her left leg and refused to release his grip, prompting her to choke the animal with her other leg to break free.
“When he charged at my other dog, Ralphie, I got in between them, and that’s when Dennis latched on to my leg and would not let go,” she told the outlet of the terrifying Dec. 10 incident.
“I was a bit scared, but I’ve broken up dog fights before, and I didn’t feel any pain because of the adrenaline. I ended up having to hook my right leg and my arms around him and choked him out to get him off me.”
She said the pit bull also bit her left hand and crushed the bone in her right arm — injuries she didn’t even realize she’d suffered amid her chaotic attempt to pry her dog’s jaws loose while also yelling at her 10-year-old son to stay in his room.
Once Mears finally broke free, she was rushed to a Nashville hospital, where her mangled leg was practically “hanging off.” Doctors told her she could either amputate the limb or undergo a series of painful surgeries over the next two years, the outlet reported.
“I wasn’t able to stand up because my leg was basically hanging off,” Mears, who has four dogs and also homes canines abandoned by their previous owners, recalled.
“I decided to have my leg amputated because to save my leg, I’d have had to have 12 more surgeries over the next two years and I would be in constant pain.”
Mears had her leg removed below the knee three days later and underwent surgery on her arms, according to a GoFundMe launched to help with her medical expenses.
She is also expected to be fitted for a prosthetic.
After spending a week in the hospital, the single mom chose to euthanize Dennis to keep her son safe.
“Dennis has always been the sweetest dog; he’d never been aggressive before,” she told the outlet.
“I decided to have Dennis put down, which was hard. He was my best friend, and I raised him from two weeks old. It was a decision that hurt, but it was not a difficult decision.”
Tennessee
Tennessee football beats out Ohio State for a top transfer portal target
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Tennessee football beat out Ohio State for transfer edge rusher Chaz Coleman, giving the Vols one of the top players in the portal.
Coleman spent one season at Penn State. With the Nittany Lions, the former four-star prospect collected eight tackles, three tackles for loss, one sack and a forced fumble in nine games.
Coleman is a native of Warren, Ohio. His offer sheet out of Harding High School included Ohio State, Missouri, Illinois, Ole Miss and Kentucky, among others.
In Coleman’s lone season at Penn State, the Nittany Lions saw a plethora of change.
Former head coach James Franklin was fired in mid-October after a 3-3 start. After finishing the season with an interim staff, Penn State hired Matt Campbell as its next head coach.
The change in staff also led to the departure of Jim Knowles — Penn State’s defensive coordinator who served in that role at Ohio State from 2022-24. He’s not at Tennessee.
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