Say what you want about Tennessee football head coach Josh Heupel.
The Vols have not won a national title under Heupel. They haven’t yet won the SEC under Heupel, either. And still, apart from only Kirby Smart and Steve Sarkisian, he’s done more for his current program than any active league head coach. To understand why, we need some context.
2010s Tennessee was an embarrassment to the sport of football, kicked off by Lane Kiffin‘s surprise departure to USC following the 2009 regular season. The Vols had just a few decent years across the entire decade thanks to that setback. Derek Dooley failed to finish over .500 across his 3 seasons in Knoxville, but there’s an argument to be made that Jeremy Pruitt was even worse from 2018-2020.
Star players such as Alvin Kamara, Derek Barnett, Josh Dobbs and Jauan Jennings dragged HC Butch Jones to 9 wins in back-to-back years — 2015 and 2016 — but Jones’s in-game ineptitude kept the Vols from finding another gear.
It’s a necessary reminder to adequately describe how refreshing Heupel’s tenure has been to this point. Once-elite Tennessee was a dying program which hadn’t won 10 games in a season dating back to 2007 before AD Danny White and Heupel arrived from UCF. Tennessee has done that in 2 of Heupel’s first 4 years as head coach, and while there are some questions to answer this season, there’s also plenty of reason for optimism in Knoxville long-term.
Related: Think Tennessee can win 9 games this season? The Vols’ current over/under win total for the 2025 season sits at 8.5 on DraftKings (Over +105, Under -125). Compare these odds with some of our favorite Tennessee Sports Betting Apps before the season kicks off in August!
Tennessee made the College Football Playoff last season, and since the SEC Network has been turning over its programming to each SEC team as we near the new season, we thought it’d be interesting to take a look at Tennessee’s top 5 games of the Josh Heupel era (so far, at least).
Let’s dive in.
5. 2021: Tennessee 45, No. 18 Kentucky 42
There are several games that could have gone in this spot. The Vols’ rematch against Pitt in 2022 was close throughout, and while it wasn’t as pretty, Heupel’s return win over Oklahoma was quite the moment as well. Of course, the 2022 Vols beating an LSU squad that featured Jayden Daniels, Malik Nabers and freshman-year Harold Perkins by 4 touchdowns was as impressive a win as the Vols can boast in the Heupel era.
This one is underrated, though. The Vols’ win over a Kentucky team that finished the year 10-3 makes the list because it was Heupel’s first big win at Tennessee, and the first of 4 straight wins he currently holds over the Wildcats. It also further cemented Hendon Hooker as the guy for Tennessee entering 2022’s fantastic season.
Tennessee was this close to having a solid first year under Heupel, but the unit just couldn’t finish games. How would we remember that season had Hooker not been injured on the final drive against Ole Miss? If Hooker had started over Milton against Pitt, or if the controversial call at the end of the Music City Bowl against Purdue swung in Tennessee’s favor? Controversial or not, the Vols finished the season 1-3 in 1-score games, with the lone win coming over the Wildcats.
As mentioned above, Hooker was locked in and posted probably the best game from his first year on Rocky Top. The Vols QB threw for 4 touchdowns — a personal best that regular season — and 316 yards. His early 4th quarter scoring drive, culminated by a 6-yard TD pass to Cedric Tillman, proved to be the score that officially put the Wildcats to bed.
Kentucky is Kentucky and the Vols are always expected to earn a win over the Wildcats, but this was a sneaky important win for Josh Heupel and Co.
4. 2022: No. 11 Tennessee 38, No. 20 Florida 33
Tennessee’s 2022 win over the Gators — at the time its first since 2016 — was the definition of “too close for comfort.”
The Vols and Gators went back and forth to start, but it looked as if Tennessee was going to pull away and not look back starting around the end of the third quarter.
Down 38-21 with under 6 minutes remaining, Anthony Richardson and the Gators scored back-to-back touchdowns to make it a 38-33 game with 17 seconds left, needing an onside kick to keep their hopes alive. Against all odds, the Gators recovered that onside kick, then completed a pass to put the ball at Tennessee’s 39-yard line with 11 seconds remaining.
Tennessee had beaten Florida just once across 17 previous attempts heading into this game, and it really felt watching live that Florida was about to pull it off yet again. But Kamal Hadden, who ended his career beloved by Vols fans, intercepted Richardson to put the Gators to bed. Tip your cap to Byron Young, who put immense pressure on Richardson to force the INT.
3. 2024: No. 11 Tennessee 24, No. 7 Alabama 17
Josh Heupel’s 2nd win over Alabama perfectly encapsulated 2024 Tennessee at its very best. Dylan Sampson led the way through the run game while James Pearce, Jermod McCoy and Will Brooks made life chaotic for Jalen Milroe in the passing game. Milroe completed just 25 of his 45 passing attempts and threw a pair of interceptions to go with 239 yards passing and 1 touchdown.
Sampson was special against the Tide in this one, rushing for 139 yards on 26 carries (5.3 average) with a pair of touchdowns, the first 2 Tennessee scores of the evening. First-year starter Nico Iamaleava didn’t have the best outing, but his effort was enough to down the Tide thanks to his 16-yard scoring connection with receiver Chris Brazzell. Before that point, the Vols had led for just under 3 minutes the entire game.
Without a win over Alabama on its résumé, Tennessee wouldn’t have made the College Football Playoff for the first time in program history. However you want to spin it, that’s a win for Josh Heupel and the Volunteers.
2. 2022 Orange Bowl: No. 6 Tennessee 31, No. 10 Clemson 14
This is definitely Tennessee’s best nonconference win of the Heupel era thus far. That’s because the Vols didn’t just win this one — they dominated a Clemson team that won 11 games, though it’s fair to note the Tigers were missing some talent on offense.
As alluded to, 2022 was far from Dabo Swinney’s best season with the Tigers, but Clemson was no slouch, either. The Tigers, like the Vols, lost out on an opportunity to play in the College Football Playoff thanks to an upset loss at the hands of South Carolina. If they had beaten the Gamecocks, they would have finished either 4th or 5th in the CFP poll alongside Ohio State, which had just been blown out by Michigan the same week.
Enough with the hypotheticals, though. Here’s what we know for certain: This was Joe Milton’s best game as a Vol. He threw for 251 yards and 3 touchdowns, completing 19 of his 28 passing attempts and earning himself the Orange Bowl MVP in the process. His 251 yards also put the Vols over 4,000 yards passing on the season, a program first.
While bowl games have slightly lost their luster, this was Tennessee’s best postseason win since the 1998 Fiesta Bowl (national championship) win over Florida State. The Vols did go to the Cotton Bowl in 2004 — which would be a NY6 contest today — but it wasn’t considered a BCS bowl when the ’04 Vols dispatched Texas A&M 38-7.
1. 2022: No. 6 Tennessee 52, No. 3 Alabama 49
Perhaps no program enjoyed Tennessee’s woeful 2010s run than Alabama, which repeatedly demolished its longtime rival 15 straight times heading into October of 2022.
What followed was perhaps the best college football game of the past 5 years. Hendon Hooker and Bryce Young put on a show, with both eclipsing 375 yards passing. But the player of the game was Jalin Hyatt, who hauled in 6 receptions for 207 yards and 5 touchdowns. The Crimson Tide could not guard Hyatt (in fairness, nobody could).
Another notable aspect of this game was the unbelievable atmosphere at Neyland Stadium. Vols fans threw the goalposts in the Tennessee River after the win, a celebration that was 15 years in the making. Refer to the video below for more examples of Neyland’s insanity that night.
Finally, there’s Chase McGrath’s knuckleball field goal that won it all. As historic as this moment was, don’t forget Hooker’s pair of improbable throws that put the McGrath in position to win it for the Vols.
It remains the best win of Josh Heupel’s coaching career.
Tennessee football: The top 5 games of the Josh Heupel era Saturday Down South.
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