It’s Week 2 of the college football season, which means it’s time for our video game simulation of No. 14 Tennessee vs. No. 24 NC State on EA Sports College Football 25.

We still need another week before we can deliver a true simulation, as this week’s game will take place at the neutral site of Bank of American Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina, which is not available in the video game. For last week’s simulation, Tennessee took on Chattanooga, which was only available by downloading a user-created team with inaccurate player names and attributes.

But for this week’s matchup, rosters are updated, even if rankings are not. We set the time for 8 p.m. (the closest you can get to a 7:30 p.m. kickoff) and set the environment to partly cloudy to simulate the projected weather in Charlotte.

We ran 100 simulations to get a wide range of averages for both teams. Here’s what the video game predicts for the real-life matchup between the Volunteers and the Wolfpack, happening at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 7.

Results of the virtual Tennessee Volunteers vs. NC State Wolfpack games

Out of 100 simulations, NC State won the majority of the games with 53.

Many games were decided by just a field goal or a touchdown, and only a few games featured a blowout by either team. Seven games went to overtime, which favored NC State with four victories.

The Vols scored an average of 24.3 points per game, with the Wolfpack scoring an average of 25.95.

Tennessee average yards: 174.54 rushing, 183.75 passing and 465.5 total

NC State average yards: 150.9 rushing, 234.93 passing yards and 488.38 total

Columnist John Adams doesn’t think the real-life game will be close, predicting a UT victory of 41-23. Here’s more about what EA Sports College Football 25 thinks will happen based on our simulations:

• Biggest UT win: 34-13
• Biggest NC State win: 45-14
• Highest scoring game: 52-40, Tennessee
• Lowest scoring game: 13-3, NC State
• Closest game: 24-23, NC State
• Biggest surprise: In three games, the losing team had the most valuable player. The Vols lost in overtime in Game 53, but Nico Iamaleava was named MVP. Grayson McCall of NC State was named MVP in Games 69 and 76, despite the Vols winning both matchups.
• Most impressive plays: Squirrel White returned a kick for a 101-yard touchdown in Game 69, which the Vols won 31-27. James Pierce Jr. picked up 77 yards on a fumble in Game 3. In Game 46, Nico Iamaleava passed to Dont’e Thornton Jr. for a 91-yard touchdown, followed by a 90-yard touchdown from Grayson McCall to Kevin Concepcion.
• Most Valuable Players: Quarterbacks Grayson McCall and Nico Iamaleava took home the most MVP awards. NC State wide receiver Kevin Concepcion, running back Jordan Waters, running back Kendrick Raphael and wide receiver Noah Rogers all were named MVP at least once. UT linebacker Keenan Pili, running back Dylan Sampson, running back Khalifa Keith, running back Cameron Seldon, wide receiver Squirrel White, running back Peyton Lewis, wide receiver Chris Brazzell II and wide receiver Dont’e Thornton Jr. all were named MVP at least once.

Smokey grey uniforms are now in EA Sports College Football 25

Fans of the smokey grey uniforms can rejoice, as the uniform style has been added to the game.

The game still features Smokey XI partaking in mascot activities on the sidelines, which the real Smokey XI won’t be doing this season as he keeps developing.

Check back next week to see what EA Sports College Football 25 has in store for Tennessee vs. Kent State!

Keenan Thomas is a higher education reporter. Email keenan.thomas@knoxnews.com. X, formerly known as Twitter @specialk2real.

Support strong local journalism by subscribing to subscribe.knoxnews.com.

Labor Day has passed and pumpkin flavor everything is making its way back onto the shelves and in coffee shops, which means … it’s time for another couple of weeks of summer.

Yes, you read that correctly. There are still a couple of more weeks before we hit the first official day of fall. It does help that it hasn’t felt like autumn yet. Communities across Tennessee have been dealing with temperatures in the upper 80s up to 90 this past week, but that could soon change and give us a taste of false fall before the actual first day.

Here’s when the actual first day of fall is and when to expect cooler temperatures regularly.

When is the first day of fall?

The first day of fall is Sunday, Sept. 22, at 7:44 a.m. CT/ 8:44 a.m. ET, also known as the autumnal equinox.

The equinox is known as the astronomical start of the season, but there is another method used to measure the change in seasons.

The meteorological start to fall is based on the annual temperature cycle and the 12-month calendar. With this definition, each season begins on the first of a particular month and lasts for three months. This means summer will end on Aug. 31 and fall will start on Sept. 1, according to The Old Farmer’s Almanac.

When is the last day of summer?

Tennesseans can keep summer vibes going until Saturday, Sept. 21.

When can we expect cooler temperatures in Tennessee?

It may have been hot this week, but Accuweather predicts cooler weather across Tennessee as we head into the weekend, but it won’t be around for long.

Middle and West Tennessee residents can expect temperatures to jump back up into the upper 80s to the mid-90s until the first day of fall. The mountains of East Tennessee will see slightly cooler temperatures ahead of Sept. 22, with temperatures hovering around the mid-80s. But as the autumnal equinox— or the September equinox or the fall equinox — hits at the end of the month, it will bring a change in season with shorter days and temperatures that start to feel just a bit more fall-like.

Tennessee is looking at near-average temperatures for fall this year, according to the Old Farmer’s Almanac. As for what the forecast looks like, temperatures will start to drop at night and toward the end of the month across Tennessee into the mid to upper 70s, according to Accuweather’s monthly weather forecast predictions.