Louisville reportedly tried to set up a football home-and-home series with Tennessee.

After Nebraska backed out of a series with the Vols that was slated for 2026 in Lincoln and 2027 in Knoxville and had been scheduled for more than a decade earlier this year, the Cardinals were interested in filling the void on Tennessee’s schedule, according to Action Network’s Brett McMurphy.

TALK ABOUT IT IN THE ROCKY TOP FORUM

The Vols instead announced a home-and-home series against Georgia Tech last month, reviving the rivalry between the two programs in Atlanta in 2026 and again at Neyland Stadium in 2027.

“After Nebraska canceled the series, our main focus was to secure another home-and-home matchup with an opponent from a Power Four conference, which seemed improbable at the time,” Tennessee athletic director Danny White said in a statement on April 9. “I sincerely appreciate Athletic Director J Batt’s creativity in modifying Georgia Tech’s schedule to make this series possible. We look forward to seeing plenty of orange in Atlanta in 2026!”

According to McMurphy, Louisville also tried to add Ole Miss to its future non-conference schedule but were turned down by the Rebels, who will play Washington State after Wake Forest bought out its contract last year.

The Cardinals have scheduled home-and-home games against Georgia, Texas A&M and Notre Dame in the coming years.

Tennessee has played Louisville five times previously, winning all five match ups dating back to 1914.

The two teams last played in a home-and-home series in 1991 and 1993 with the Vols beating the Cardinals, 28-11 at the since-demolished Cardinal Stadium and 45-10 at Neyland Stadium two years later.

MORE FROM VOLREPORT: Where Tennessee football’s updated win total stands for 2025 season

Tennessee has played an ACC team as part of its non-conference schedule for four-straight seasons. The Vols split a home-and-home series with Pittsburgh in 2021 and 2022 and beat Virginia in Nashville in its 2023 opener.

Tennessee routed NC State, 51-10 in the Duke’s Mayo Classic at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte last season. The Vols are set to opener their 2025 campaign against Syracuse in the Aflac Kickoff Classic at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Aug. 30 (Noon ET, ABC).

Upcoming Tennessee schedules currently feature non-conference games against West Virginia in Charlotte in 2028 and a home-and-home series with Washington in 2029 (Knoxville) and 2030 (Seattle).

The Tennessee Titans have gone through a mini-makeover this offseason. When Brian Callahan was hired in 2024, Will Levis came with the team like furniture. This offseason, though, he drafted his own guy to be the hopeful future of the franchise.

Tennessee selected Miami quarterback Cam Ward in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft. On top of that, they also added Stanford wide receiver Elic Ayomanor in the fourth round to complement the largely-veteran receiver room of Calvin Ridley and Tyler Lockett. Defensively, they drafted UCLA edge rusher Oluwafemi Oladejo in the second round and Penn State safety Kevin Winston in round three. This was after they signed left tackle Dan Moore and guard Kevin Zeitler in free agency.

On top of the good offseason of team-building the Titans have had, they also are set to face one of the easiest schedules in the NFL. Per Sharp Football Analysis, the Titans have the eighth-easiest schedule in the league.

On top of playing in one of the weaker divisions in football, the Titans have multiple winnable games on their schedule outside the AFC South, They play the Cleveland Browns, who could be in conention for a top five pick once again. They also play the New Orleans Saints, who very well may be the worst team in the NFL.

While it would be too much to expect for the Titans to take a huge step forward and become a playoff team in Year One of the Ward era, we did just see it happen twice in the NFL last year. Bo Nix took the Denver Broncos to the playoffs as the No. 7 seed in the AFC and Jayden Daniels led the Washington Commanders to the NFC Championship Game. With the schedule they are facing, combined with the division they are in, there is a greater than zero chance they can do what the Texans did in 2023 with C.J Stroud – surprise everyone and win the AFC South with a rookie quarterback.

Make sure you bookmark Tennessee Titans on SI for the latest news, exclusive interviews, film breakdowns and so much more!

The Cardinals will play the Titans at home in 2025, but they will not open the season against them.

The Arizona Cardinals will announce their full 2025 season schedule Wednesday evening at 5 p.m. Arizona time. Until then, we are piecing together information. While as of publishing this there have been no legitimate reports of specific games for the Cardinals in certain weeks, we know what weeks they will not be playing some of their opponents.

For example, a report from Jordan Schultz eliminates a potential Week 1 opponent. Schultz reports that the Denver Broncos will open at home against the Tennessee Titans.

The Cardinals will play the Titans in 2025 at home. It just won’t be in Week 1.

Cardinals 2025 opponents

Home:

Away:

What we know about the Cardinals’ 2025 schedule

• They won’t play the Titans or Cowboys in Week 1 (Dallas plays the Eagles, Titans play Broncos)
• They will not face the Indianapolis Colts in Berlin. The Atlanta Falcons will.
• The Cardinals will face the Green Bay Packers at home this season. But as the Packers will be part of the Week 16 Saturday doubleheader on FOX, visiting the Chicago Bears, the Cardinals will not face the Packers in Week 16.
• The Cardinals will not play on Black Friday. That game pits the Bears and Eagles.

Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire’s Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.