Tennessee
Tennessee's Defensive Stats Lead to Former National Champions Comparison | 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
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.
PUTNAM COUNTY, Tenn. (WZTV) — A Tennessee grandfather wanted for kidnapping his two grandchildren was arrested without incident at a Cookeville hotel Thursday, with both children found safe, according to Putnam County Sheriffs.
Edward Fulton, was wanted out of Montgomery County for kidnapping two of his grandchildren.
Police put out an alert for him and his car. Deputies from Putnam County Sheriff’s Office found him at a Hampton Inn hotel in Cookeville, and arrested him.
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The kids were safe and have been returned to their family.
SPRINGFIELD, TENN. (WTVF) — Robertson County Deputy Savanna Puckett was shot and killed in 2022 at just 22 years old — the victim of a man her family says had a violent past that no one could easily see.
Her mother, Kim Dodson, is determined to make sure other families have the tools to protect themselves. That fight led to “Savanna’s Law,” which creates Tennessee’s first public registry for repeat domestic violence offenders. Dodson is now working to spread the idea nationwide.
Dodson says her daughter spent her short life putting others first — whether serving with the Robertson County Sheriff’s Office, working at Vanderbilt, or volunteering in the community.
“She loved what she did. I know they called her mother hen up there because she was always trying to feed them and take care of them,” Dodson said.
But beneath the man charged in her killing was a record Dodson says even her deputy daughter could not find: four prior domestic violence and stalking charges.
After the murder, Dodson began working with lawmakers to ask a simple question: “Why don’t we have a registry?”
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation now oversees the new Domestic Violence Offender Registry, which began Jan. 1, 2026. Under the law:
- Repeat offenders convicted of qualifying domestic violence crimes must register publicly.
- The registry includes names, conviction counties, conviction dates and, in some cases, photographs.
- Those convicted must have at least one prior domestic violence-related conviction.
- Depending on their criminal history, offenders remain on the registry between five and 20 years.
Dodson points out Tennessee already has registries for sex offenders, animal abusers, and elder abuse perpetrators. She says adding domestic violence offenders was long overdue.
Dodson knows the registry cannot prevent every violent crime, but she hopes it can give families access to information her daughter never had.
“If Savanna had this to look up, I don’t believe she would ever have gotten involved with him. If I can save one person — another mother, another grandmother — it’s worth it,” Dodson said.
Advocates from 12 other states have reached out, hoping to replicate the law. Dodson’s ultimate goal is to pass a federal law making the registry nationwide.
Until then, she says she’ll keep pushing — both in the legislature and in the community — through the Deputy Puckett Foundation.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
Neighbors transform Antioch Pike after deadly hit-and-run
Here’s a story offering a great example of how a common cause, and a little creativity, can “intersect” to improve quality of life. Our South Nashville reporter Patsy Montesinos shares how some neighbors decided to take action, following the tragic death of a 77-year-old in a hit-and-run along Antioch Pike earlier this year. See how they used “tactical urbanism” to make the area a little safer for all.
– Rhori Johnston
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