Tennessee

Tennessee softball bowing out of SEC tournament early no surprise. Will NCAA regional be any different?

Published

5 days ago

May 9, 2025

Tennessee softball bowing out of SEC tournament early no surprise. Will NCAA regional be any different?

It wasn’t a surprise that Tennessee softball’s offense couldn’t overcome errors that led to unearned runs in its SEC tournament quarterfinal loss.

It felt inevitable that the Lady Vols’ inconsistent offense would catch up to them in the postseason, and it didn’t take long. No. 4 seed Tennessee didn’t have any offensive buffer for two critical errors and six unearned runs in the 6-1 loss to No. 5 seed Arkansas (40-11) at Jack Turner Softball Stadium in Athens, Georgia, on May 8.

It was the fifth loss of the season when junior pitcher Karlyn Pickens (20-8) started and didn’t give up any earned runs. Her ERA went down to 0.92 in the loss.

“Facts are facts. There’s zero earned runs on there,” Tennessee coach Karen Weekly said. “I know (Pickens) is going to probably look at it a little differently, but … we talk about mistakes – we make a couple plays a little cleaner, we’re in a real battle. Who knows, maybe we’re in one of those extra inning ball games.”

Pickens’ performance should have been enough for Tennessee to win. But the Lady Vols’ defense faltered twice and committed errors in crucial moments – ones they couldn’t afford to make with their slow offensive day.

The signs of a postseason loss like this have been there from the season opener on Feb. 6 when Tennessee lost 7-1 to Nebraska. It was the first of five losses this season when Pickens started and didn’t give up a single earned run. The Huskers broke open the game in the fifth inning when multiple fielding errors led to five runs.

The Lady Vols went on to lose 1-0 to Oregon on an unearned run when Pickens struck out 13. Weekly even got strategic with her pitching staff in the Texas series in April so Tennessee wouldn’t lose another pitcher’s duel and waste another excellent performance from Pickens.

The Lady Vols didn’t look like a team playing its best softball in the postseason against Arkansas. But they haven’t looked like a team building toward that for the last few weeks, losing four of their last seven games of the regular season.

A few weeks ago, Tennessee was on track to secure a top-8 seed in the NCAA tournament, which would have given it hosting privileges until Oklahoma City if UT made a run the Women’s College World Series. Now, the Lady Vols are floundering going into the selection show on Sunday (7 p.m. ET, ESPN2).

Tennessee should safely host a regional as a top-16 seed, but its place in the top 8 seeds is in question after losing their first game of the SEC tournament.

Weekly pointed to their road series wins over Texas and Oklahoma along with no losses to unranked teams as part of their case for a top-8 seed. Tennessee has also played 28 of its games against ranked opponents. The Lady Vols played every reigning power conference champion from last season (UCLA, Northwestern, Duke and Texas).

“I think we’re either second or third or tied for second in terms of the number of games against top 25,” Weekly said. “I think sometimes people look at wins, but if another team is playing a bunch of teams that are in 26 through 50, and we played a bulk in the top 25, that’s putting yourself out there over and over and over again.”

Cora Hall covers University of Tennessee women’s athletics. Email her at cora.hall@knoxnews.com and follow her on X @corahalll. If you enjoy Cora’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that allows you to access all of it.

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Tennessee

Arizona Cardinals will not face the Tennessee Titans in Week 1

Published

11 hours ago

May 14, 2025

Press Room

Arizona Cardinals will not face the Tennessee Titans in Week 1

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.

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Who do Tennessee Titans play in 2025? Their opponents ahead of NFL schedule release

Published

1 day ago

May 13, 2025

Press Room

Who do Tennessee Titans play in 2025? Their opponents ahead of NFL schedule release

It’s just about time to start planning for the Tennessee Titans’ 2025 NFL season.

The NFL will release its schedule for the 2025 season on May 14, putting the Titans’ opponents in order for quarterback Cam Ward’s rookie season. One year after finishing 3-14, the team is set to face one of the easiest schedules in the league, including matchups against the last-place finishers from every AFC division last season, as four road trips to face teams in western divisions.

Ward, the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, should bring some extra interest to a team that struggled to draw attention last season. The Titans revamped their offensive line and added a bundle of receivers via the draft and free agency to rebuild an aerial attack that has struggled the past three seasons.

BUY TENNESSEE TITANS 2025 TICKETS

Luckily for the Titans, the AFC South heads into 2025 still as one of the NFL’s weaker divisions. Houston looks poised to win the division’s automatic playoff berth again, but Jacksonville and Indianapolis are teams in transition just as much as the Titans, with uncertainty at quarterback for the Colts and first-time coaches and front office staffers taking the Jaguars in a new, surprising direction.

NFL schedule release date

The league will release the 2025 schedule on Wednesday, May 14.

What time is NFL schedule release?

The NFL schedule is set to be released at 7 p.m. CT.

Where to watch NFL schedule release

The NFL Network is airing the schedule release.

This year, the Titans will play their six customary games against AFC South opponents, as well as games against teams from the AFC West and NFC West. The three remaining games will be played against the last-place finishers from a year ago in the AFC East, AFC North and NFC South.

The Titans will play one more home game than road game this fall.

Home opponents: Houston, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, Kansas City, L.A. Chargers, L.A. Rams, Seattle, New England, New Orleans

Road opponents: Houston, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, Denver, Las Vegas, Arizona, San Francisco, Cleveland

Tennessee Titans tickets

Looking to buy Tennessee Titans tickets for 2025? We’ve got you covered here.

BUY TENNESSEE TITANS 2025 TICKETS

Nick Suss is the Titans beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Nick at nsuss@gannett.com. Follow Nick on X, the platform formerly called Twitter, @nicksuss.

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ESPN lists Tennessee draftee as non-first-round pick that could star in NFL

Published

2 days ago

May 12, 2025

Press Room

ESPN lists Tennessee draftee as non-first-round pick that could star in NFL

Tennessee football could have a star defensive lineman in the NFL out of this draft class, and it’s not even necessarily first-round pick James Pearce Jr.

While Pearce is projected to make a quick and significant impact, Omarr Norman-Lott is also getting attention as a potential critical piece for his new team.

ESPN released a ranking of 10 offensive and defensive rookies not selected in the first round that could ‘make the greatest immediate impact as rookies’ or ‘star this NFL season.’

This included Norman-Lott.

TALK ABOUT IT IN THE ROCKY TOP FORUM

Norman-Lott clocked in at No. 7 on the list of defenders. He was selected by the Chiefs with the No. 63 pick in the draft during the second round.

“Adding another defensive tackle was a priority for the Chiefs early in this draft, considering they lost Tershawn Wharton in free agency,” ESPN’s Field Yates wrote. “Having another big body on the defensive line can make life easier for Chris Jones. Norman-Lott is a standout pass rusher from inside, showing disruptive up-field rush skills that helped him to 9.5 sacks over the past two seasons. Playing next to Jones should create plenty of one-on-one rush reps for him.”

Receiving an honorable mention nod was another former Tennessee defensive lineman. Drafted by the Dolphins, Jordan Phillips was mentioned. However, he finished his career at Maryland.

Norman-Lott is coming off his second season with Tennessee. In his final year, he played in all 13 games. He recorded 18 tackles, four tackles for loss, four sacks and three quarterback hurries during the season.

In his first year in Knoxville as a junior, Norman-Lott played in 10 games. During that time, he earned 26 tackles, six tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks and a fumble recovery.

Prior to joining the Vols, Norman-Lott played his first pair of seasons at Arizona State.

As a sophomore with the Sun Devils, Norman-Lott played in nine games and started a pair. He posted 14 tackles, three tackles for loss and two sacks.

As a true freshman with Arizona State, Norman-Lott played in 11 games and recorded 30 tackles, four tackles for loss and two sacks.

Norman-Lott is from Sacramento, California, where he played at Grant.

As a member of the 2020 class, he was a four-star prospect who chose Arizona State. He ranked as the No. 30 player in the state and No. 28 defensive tackle in the class.

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