8 p.m. | ABC/ESPN
NOTING THE TENNESSEE-OHIO STATE SERIES
• Tennessee and Ohio State are meeting for only the second time and the first time since New Year’s Day 1996 when the Vols defeated the Buckeyes, 20-14, in the Citrus Bowl. • It’s been nearly 29 years since the two programs last met. • This is the Vols’ first game in the state of Ohio. Tennessee has now played in 26 states. The Vols have never played a game in: Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming. • Tennessee is 1-1 vs. Big Ten opponents in the Josh Heupel era, and it’s the second straight season that the Vols face a Big Ten foe in the postseason. Tennessee blanked Big Ten West champion Iowa, 35-0, in the 2024 Citrus Bowl on New Year’s Day. The lone loss was a 48-45 overtime shootout to Purdue in the 2021 Music City Bowl in Heupel’s first season. • This is the first time since the Big Ten formed in 1896 that Tennessee will play a road game vs. a team who is a member of the Big Ten at the time of the meeting. The Vols’ other Big Ten matchups occurred at bowl games, regular season home games or neutral site games. • Tennessee is just the fourth team to play a game at Ohio Stadium as a member of the SEC and first since Ohio State rallied from a 13-point deficit in the final two minutes to defeat LSU, 36-33, on Sept. 24, 1988. The Buckeyes own wins over Vanderbilt (1933) and Kentucky (1935) at home. First SEC football season was 1933. • Josh Heupel has never faced Ohio State as a player, assistant coach or head coach. • Tennessee R-Jr. safety Andre Turrentine originally signed with Ohio State as one of the top 10 safety prospects in the Class of 2021. He played in four games for the Buckeyes in 2021 as a true freshman, including the Rose Bowl vs. Utah, before transferring to Tennessee in the spring of 2022. • This will be the 10th time DC Tim Banks has faced Ohio State. He played them five times as the Co-DC at Penn State (2016-20) and four times as the DC at Illinois (2012- 15). • A total of 360 miles separates the two campuses (approx. five hours).
Tennessee Volunteers Notes
STORYLINES
• CFP FIRST ROUND PRIMETIME:
No. 9 seed Tennessee makes its first College Football Playoff appearance as it travels to meet No. 8 seed Ohio State at 8 p.m. ET Saturday live on ABC and ESPN. ESPN College GameDay will also be on hand. It will be Vols’ first game in the state of Ohio and only the second meeting between the two historic programs. The winner advances to the Rose Bowl Game to take on top seed Oregon at 5 p.m. ET on New Year’s Day. Tennessee has played in only two Rose Bowls (1940, ’45). The Vols were one of three SEC teams to make the field, joining No. 2 seed Georgia and No. 5 seed Texas. Tennessee is the fifth program all-time to make a CFP appearance as a member of the SEC, joining Alabama (8), Georgia (4), LSU (1) and Texas (1). Oklahoma made four appearances as a member of the Big 12, and Texas’ 2023 berth was as a member of the Big 12. Ohio State finished fourth in the Big Ten this season. The matchup will feature two of the nation’s top five total (UT 4, OSU 1) and scoring defenses (UT 4, OSU 1).
• 2024 SEASON RECAP:
Tennessee won 10 regular season games for the second time in three years. After being picked seventh by the media at SEC Media Days, the Vols finished tied for second in the SEC (+5) with Georgia at 6-2. UT has finished above where the media picked them in three of four seasons under Josh Heupel. Tennessee has produced at least a .500 record in SEC play in all four seasons under Heupel with 6-2 marks in two out of the last three seasons. The Vols rallied from a 14-0 first-quarter deficit to defeat Vanderbilt in the finale that was UT’s 30th victory since the start of the 2022 season. It’s the winningest three-year stretch for the program since claiming 30 victories from 1998-2000. UT defeated rivals Florida and Alabama, and both of the Vols’ losses came on the road at night in games that were decided in the fourth quarter (Arkansas, Georgia). RB Dylan Sampson was named SEC Offensive Player of the Year by the AP and Coaches after breaking five single-season school records. CB Jermod McCoy, who tied for second in the SEC in interceptions with five, was voted AP first-team All-SEC and a second-team All-American. C Cooper Mays was a Rimington Trophy finalist, an AP and Coaches first-team All-SEC recipient and a first-team All-American by Sports Illustrated and USA Today. DC Tim Banks was a Broyles Award finalist.
• HEUPEL ERA:
Josh Heupel, the 2022 AP SEC Coach of the Year, is in his fourth season at UT. Since taking over a program that was 3-7 prior to his arrival, Heupel owns a 37-14 record and is 30-8 since the start of the 2022 season. The 30 wins since the start of 2022 are third-most in the SEC. Since 2018, he ranks fifth nationally among active FBS head coaches in victories with 65. Heupel became the third coach in UT history with multiple 10-win regular seasons, joining Phillip Fulmer (5x in 17 years) and Gen. Robert Neyland (5x in 21 years). Heupel has led the Vols to three straight seasons of at least nine wins for the first time since Fulmer did it in five straight seasons from 1995-99. Heupel, Georgia’s Kirby Smart and Alabama’s Kalen DeBoer are the only active SEC coaches with a three-or-more-year streak secured so far this season.
• TOP 10 IN THE FBS:
Tennessee heads into the CFP ranked in the FBS top 10 in 12 major categories: fourth-down defense (1st – 28.6), scoring defense (4th – 13.9), third-down defense (5th – 29.5), yards per play allowed (4th – 4.33), total defense (4th – 278.3), tackles for loss (7th – 7.8), total offense (8th – 462.9), rushing defense (8th – 99.6), punt return average (8th – 15.7), scoring offense (8th – 37.3), rushing offense (9th – 232.0) and team passing efficiency defense (9th – 110.51). UT led the SEC in rushing for the second straight season. Tennessee is the only team in the nation with a top 10 rushing offense and rushing defense. The Vols have issued the third-fewest offensive touchdowns in the FBS this season with 18.
VOLS HELD 10 OF 12 OPPONENTS UNDER 20 POINTS THIS SEASON
• Tennessee has held opponents to under 20 points in 11 out of its last 13 games dating back to last season’s 35-0 Citrus Bowl shutout of Iowa. During this stretch, the Vols have pitched three shutouts, including two this season (71-0 vs. Kent State on Sept. 14 and 56-0 vs. UTEP on Nov. 23). It’s the first time the Vols have recorded multiple shutouts in a season since the final two regular season games of 2002 (Vandy, UK). • Tennessee’s defense held 10 of its 12 regular season opponents under 20 points this season, and the 12th and final opponent only went over 20 because of a kickoff return touchdown to start the game. • Tennessee held opponents to under 20 points in the first nine games of this season for the first time since 1966. That streak ended at nine after Georgia scored 31 in game 10 on Nov. 16. Tennessee was the fifth SEC team to hold its first nine opponents under 20 since 2000, joining 2003 LSU, 2011 Alabama, 2012 Alabama and 2021 Georgia. All four of those previous teams won the national title. • The Vols are tied for fourth in the FBS and second in the SEC in scoring defense, allowing only 13.9 points per game. That figure is the best by a Tennessee team since the 1998 national championship squad led the SEC in scoring defense at 13.3 ppg. The last Vol team to finish a season holding opponents to under 15 points per game was in 1999 (14.8). • The Vols have issued 167 total points (tied for fourth-fewest in FBS) and 18 offensive touchdowns (tied for third-fewest in FBS). UT issued TDs on a kickoff return (Vanderbilt) and a pick six (NC State). The 167 points are the fewest issued by a UT team since the 1999 squad allowed 163. That was also the last Vols team to issue fewer than 200 points in a season. • Georgia is the only Power Four team to score more than it averaged coming in to the game against the Vols, and that was by only 0.4 points in a game the Bulldogs hosted.
14 STRAIGHT NON-CONFERENCE WINS
• Tennessee once again puts its non-conference winning streak on the line. The Vols have won 14 non-SEC games in a row, representing their longest streak against non-conference foes since winning 27 straight from 1969-73. The current streak dates back to a Sept. 1, 2022, season-opening victory over Ball State. The Vols’ last non-conference loss was to Purdue in the 2021 Music City Bowl. • They are 17-2 vs. non-SEC foes under Josh Heupel. UT has outscored non-conference opponents 950-246 in the Heupel era. The Vols have won their last four vs. non-conference ranked teams (at No. 17 Pitt, vs. No. 10 Clemson, vs. No. 20 Iowa, vs. No. 24 NC State). • Since the start of the 2022 season, Tennessee is 14-0 vs. non-conference teams. Only Georgia (15-0) owns a better non-conference record in the FBS. Maryland (11-0) and Rutgers (10-0) also own 1.000 percentages during that three-year stretch. • Tennessee is seeking its first road win over a non-conference top-10 team since beating No. 6 Miami, 10-6, in Miami on Nov. 8, 2003.
Ohio State Buckeyes Notes
FIRST AND TEN
• Ohio State University, the No. 6 ranked team in the nation by the Associated Press and AFCA Coaches and the No. 8 seed in the 2024 College Football Playoffs, hosts the Tennessee Volunteers, ranked 7th in both polls and the No. 9 seed in the CFP, in an 8:10 p.m., first-round CFP game Saturday at Ohio Stadium. • The winner advances to play No. 1 and undefeated Oregon Jan. 1 at 5:10 EST at the Rose Bowl in the CFP quarterfinals. • This first game at Ohio Stadium in the month of December for Ohio State is the last of the four CFP first-round games after Indiana at Notre Dame (Friday at 8 p.m.) and the Saturday afternoon games featuring SMU at Penn State (noon) and Clemson at Texas (4 p.m.). • ESPN/ABC will be back in Columbus broadcasting nationally for the first time since the 2022 season when the network carried Ohio State wins over Notre Dame and Wisconsin. • This is only the second meeting on the gridiron between the two schools. Tennessee defeated Ohio State, 20-14, at the Florida Citrus Bowl in Orlando following the 1995 regular season. • Please dress warmly. The forecast calls for a game-day high of 28 degrees and a low of 20.
SIXTH CFP FOR OHIO STATE
• Ohio State is playing in the College Football Playoffs for a sixth time since the start of the CFP era in 2014 and is the only school to appear in four of the last six CFPs. • Ohio State is No. 3 all-time in CFP appearances, trailing only Alabama (eight appearances) and Clemson (seven). • Georgia and Oklahoma round out the Top 5 with four appearances apiece. • Texas, the Southeastern Conference runner-up which hosts Clemson in a first-round game Saturday, is the only team from last year’s CFP to make this year’s field. • Ohio State won the inaugural College Football Playoffs in 2014 and is 3-4 all-time in CFP games. Ohio State CFP Results: • 2014 Season – Defeated No. 1 Alabama, 42-35, in CFP semifinal at the Sugar Bowl; Defeated No. 2 Oregon, 42-20, in CFP National Championship game at Arlington, Texas • 2016 Season – Lost to No. 2 Clemson, 31-0, in CFP semifinal at the Fiesta Bowl • 2019 Season – Lost to No. 3 Clemson, 29- 23, in CFP semifinal at the Fiesta Bowl • 2020 Season – Defeated No. 2 Clemson, 49-28, in CFP semifinal at the Sugar Bowl; Lost to No. 1 Alabama, 52-24, in CFP National Championship game at Miami, Fla. 2021 Season – Lost to No. 1 Georgia, 42-41, in CFP Semifinals at the Peach Bowl
OHIO STATE IN 2024 – OFFENSE
• On offense, quarterback Will Howard is fourth nationally in completion percentage (72.3) and has 27 touchdown passes to go along with eight interceptions. • His top targets have been Emeka Egbuka (60 receptions, 743 yards, nine TDs), Jeremiah Smith (57 receptions, 934 yards, 10 TDs) and Carnell Tate (41 receptions, 583 yards, four TDs). • On the ground, running backs TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins have combined for 1,556 yards and 14 touchdowns. • The offensive line has had two senior starters, each with more than 30 starts, lost for the season with injuries – LT Josh Simmons in the Oregon game and All-American center Seth McLaughlin the week of the Indiana game – and has had four different line-up changes and eight different starters.
OHIO STATE IN 2024 – DEFENSE
• Ohio State went 10-2 in the regular season, highlighted by wins over CFP-bound teams Penn State (20-13 in State College, Pa.) and Indiana (38-15 in Columbus). • The Buckeyes have been led by one of the nation’s top defenses as Jim Knowles’ unit ranks No. 1 in total defense (241.1 yards allowed per game), No. 1 in scoring defense (10.9 points allowed per game), No. 7 in rushing defense (96.8 yards allowed per game) and No. 2 in passing defense (144.3 yards allowed per game). • Over the second half of the season, Ohio State allowed just five total touchdowns with none of them coming via the pass. • The Buckeyes’ average of 4.10 yards allowed per play is second only to Texas (4.00). • LBs Sonny Styles (76) and Cody Simon (74) lead the Buckeyes in tackles with SAFs Caleb Downs (62) and Lathan Ransom (57) right behind. • DE JT Tuimoloau leads in sacks (6-38) and TFLs (11.5-58) with Simon (8.5 TFLs), Styles and Downs (6.5 apiece) and Jack Sawyer (5.5) providing support.
NON-CONFERENCE NUMBERS
• Ohio State and Tennessee have no common opponents. • What they do have in common are routs over their non-conference foes. • Tennessee outscored Chattanooga, North Carolina State, Kent and UTEP by a 247-13 margin in its four wins while Ohio State outscored Akron, Western Michigan and Marshall, 157-20, in the three victories.
3-0 VERSUS THE SEC IN OHIO STADIUM
• SEC teams that have played in Ohio Stadium are 0-3. LSU, the last SEC school to come to Columbus to play, lost to Ohio State, 36-33, in 1988. • Ohio State defeated Kentucky in Ohio Stadium, 19-6, in 1935 in the Wildcats third season as a SEC member institution, and the Buckeyes defeated Vanderbilt, 75-0, in 1933, Vanderbilt’s first season in the SEC.
