Tennessee

Tennessee's Defensive Stats Lead to Former National Champions Comparison | Rocky Top Insider

Published

5 months ago

October 29, 2024

Tennessee's Defensive Stats Lead to Former National Champions Comparison | Rocky Top Insider

Boo Carter (23) and Joshua Josephs (19) celebrate a sack during a game against Kent State at Neyland Stadium. Saturday, Sept. 15, 2024. Photo by Cole Moore/Rocky Top Insider

Tennessee’s defense has been the backbone of the Volunteers’ team this season.

With the offense struggling at times this season, Tennessee hasn’t been out of a game all year because of the way its defense has kept them in contention.

According to CBS Sports HQ’s Todd Fuhrman on Tuesday, Tennessee is the only FBS team to give up less than 20 points in every game this season. While teams like Oklahoma and NC State have proven to be offensively hindered this season, the Vols held Arkansas, Florida, and Alabama to sub-20 points despite talented quarterbacks such as Taylen Green, DJ Lagway, Graham Mertz, and Jalen Milroe leading the opposing charge.

Fuhrman also presented Tennessee with a National Champion comparison with his stat on Tuesday. According to Fuhrman, Tennessee is the fifth SEC team since 2000 to hold each of its first seven opponents to under 20 points.

The previous four all won the National Championship: 2003 LSU, 2011 Alabama, 2012 Alabama, and 2021 Georgia.

There’s a bevy of additional factors that go into contention for the national championship but as the saying goes, defense wins championships. And while the Vols’ offense certainly has room to improve, Tennessee’s defense is playing at a championship-level – both in the eye-test and in historical comparisons.

Tennessee is the only FBS team to allow under 20 pts in every game this season.
They’re the 5th SEC team since 2000 to hold each of its 1st 7 opponents under 20.
The previous 4? They all won the National Title (2003 LSU, 2011 Bama, 2012 Bama, 2021 UGA) @3HL1045 @TheRonSlay
— Todd Fuhrman (@ToddFuhrman) October 29, 2024
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More from RTI: A Deep Dive Tennessee Football’s Path To The College Football Playoff

There’s another stat that came out on Tuesday that highlights just how good Tennessee has been but in a slightly different direction from just the scoring aspect.

According to ESPN, stop rate is “a basic measurement of success: the percentage of a defense’s drives that end in punts, turnovers, or a turnover on downs.”

Entering Week 10 of the college football season, Tennessee leads the country in stop rate at 81.3 percent and 0.90 points per drive, both the highest in the country.

Tennessee tops out Texas in the top spot, as the Longhorns post an 80.2 percent stop rate and also allow 0.90 points per drive.

“Tennessee moved into the No. 1 spot in the stop rate standings ahead of Texas and Ohio State after the latter two had close wins Saturday,” ESPN’s Max Olsen wrote on Tuesday. “The Vols are coming off their bye week and have a stop rate of 81.3% on the year. They’re the only defense in FBS that has held every opponent under 20 points. Last season, Tennessee finished No. 28 in stop rate at 68.6%.”

Need another National Champion comparison?

Last year’s Michigan squad finished No. 1 in stop rate at 81.6 percent in its games against FBS opponents.

“The top 25 teams in the final 2023 stop rate standings won a total of 249 games, with seven earning conference titles,” Olsen wrote. “Great teams find a way to get stops in critical situations.”

Tennessee’s defense is playing at a championship level. It’ll be up to them to continue building on their first seven performances while the offense continues to grease the gears in hopes of getting the offensive engine to run in overdrive in the final stretch of the season.

It all starts on Saturday, though.

No. 7 Tennessee will host SEC rival Kentucky at 7:45 p.m. ET on Saturday night in Neyland Stadium. The Wildcats defense currently ranks No. 50 in stop rate at 65.8 percent and 1.77 points per drive, according to ESPN.

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Tennessee

Kentucky faces tough odds to beat Tennessee and make the Final Four

Published

6 hours ago

March 24, 2025

Press Room

Kentucky faces tough odds to beat Tennessee and make the Final Four

The Kentucky Wildcats face a tough challenge in the Sweet 16 as they prepare to take on SEC rival Tennessee on Friday night.

According to FanDuel Sportsbook, the Wildcats enter the matchup as 4.5-point underdogs, meaning oddsmakers expect a close game but favor the Volunteers. Kentucky’s moneyline sits at +155, while Tennessee is the favorite at -188. The over/under for the game is set at 145.5 points, indicating expectations for a competitive but low-scoring affair by Kentucky’s standards.

Despite being the underdog, Kentucky has already defeated Tennessee twice this season, proving they can compete with one of the top teams in the country. Mark Pope’s squad has been playing good basketball at the right time, and if they can secure a third win over the Vols, they’ll move on to face either Houston or Purdue in the Elite Eight.

Looking at Kentucky’s Final Four odds, FanDuel lists the Cats at +600. In terms of the entire Sweet 16 field, nine teams have better odds of making the Final Four than Kentucky. Some sportsbooks give Kentucky the worst odds to make the Final Four out of the Midwest Region, though FanDuel has the Boilermakers trailing at +700 odds. Houston (-110) and Tennessee (+240) are ahead in the Midwest Region.

And finally, the FanDuel odds to win the national championship have Kentucky getting the sixth-lowest odds at +5500. Tennessee has the fifth-highest championship odds at +1600.

While the road won’t be easy, the Wildcats have shown resilience and the ability to step up in the biggest moments.

With their season on the line, Kentucky will need another strong performance from its key players to keep their championship hopes alive. If they can extend their winning streak against Tennessee, the Wildcats will be one game away from their first Final Four since 2015.

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Tennessee

Tennessee maintains top billing in D1Baseball Top 25

Published

18 hours ago

March 24, 2025

Press Room

Tennessee maintains top billing in D1Baseball Top 25

Tennessee remains the No. 1 team in college baseball.

The Vols (22-2, 5-1 SEC) maintained their top billing in the D1Baseball Top 25 for the second-straight week on Monday after winning their second-straight conference series over Alabama this past weekend.

TALK ABOUT IT IN THE ROCKY TOP FORUM

Tennessee led the way in the SEC in the rankings. Ten teams from the league were featured in the poll, including six in the top 10.

Arkansas was No. 2, followed by No. 3 Georgia, No. 7 Texas, No. 8 LSU, No. 9 Oklahoma, No. 11 Auburn, No. 12 Alabama, No. 14 Vanderbilt and No. 15 Ole Miss.

The Vols went 2-2 last week, losing to ETSU at home in extra innings before dropping the first of three against the Crimson Tide, 6-5.

The Vols responded by winning the next two, 10-7 on Friday and and 9-2 in the series finale on Saturday in Tuscaloosa.

Tennessee hosts Queens on Tuesday at Lindsey Nelson Stadium, then will go back on the road for a three-game tilt at South Carolina this weekend at Foudners Park in Columbia.

1. Tennessee (22-2)

2. Arkansas (23-2)

3. Georgia (24-2)

4. Florida State (20-3)

5. Oregon State (18-4)

6. Clemson (23-3)

7. Texas (19-3)

8. LSU (22-3)

9. Oklahoma (20-3)

10. Oregon (19-5)

11. Auburn (19-5)

12. Alabama (22-3)

13. Southern Miss (18-6)

14. Vanderbilt (19-5)

15. Ole Miss (18-5)

16. Wake Forest (19-6)

17. Dallas Baptist (16-7)

18. Louisville (18-5)

19. UC Irvine (17-5)

20. Stanford (15-6)

21. North Carolina (18-6)

22. Troy (18-6)

23. Arizona (18-5)

24. UCLA (18-5)

25. Georgia Tech (20-4)

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Tennessee

Tennessee vs Kentucky – Volunteers Looking for Payback Against Wildcats

Published

1 day ago

March 23, 2025

Press Room

Tennessee vs Kentucky – Volunteers Looking for Payback Against Wildcats

The Tennessee Volunteers are set to play the Kentucky Wildcats in the sweet sixteen.

After Tennessee defeated UCLA on Saturday and Kentucky defeated Illinois on Sunday, the two SEC programs will face off against one another in the sweet sixteen round.

The two teams faced off against one another twice during the regular season. The first go around, Kentucky won on the road 78-73. A couple of weeks later, the Wildcats defeated the Volunteers again, this time at home, by a final score of 75-64. Needless to say, not the best feeling for Tennessee going into this matchup, but the Volunteers have certainly proven they are one of the best teams in the country.

Kentucky defeated both Troy and Illinois en route to playing Tennessee. The Volunteers went up against Wofford and UCLA. This is the first time in matchup history that both programs will have played in the NCAA tournament.

A date and time has not yet been announced for the matchup.

As the sweet sixteen round approaches, here are the most updated national title odds.

All odds presented by FanDuel.

– Duke +260
– Florida +400
– Auburn +490
– Houston +550
– Tennessee +1600
– Texas Tech +2000
– Alabama +2000
– Iowa State +2700
– Michigan State +3000

The Vols will face the winner of Illinois and Kentucky in the Sweet 16. They have already played both opponents on the year. They are (1-0) vs Illinois with a 2-point win and they went winless against Kentcuy in their two matchups this season. Though with the way Chaz Lanier is scoring at the moment, they are capable of beating anyone.