Tennessee football is coming off their best season since 2001 with an 11-2 record, including capping it off with an Orange Bowl victory against the Clemson Tigers. Lots of intrigue surrounds this 2023 Vols team as they begin their campaign in less than two months. Will the team match last year’s record, have an even better one and make the College Football Playoff, or win between eight and ten games as many predict?
Look for the Vols defense to be led by senior nose tackle, Omari Thomas, and senior linebackers Doneiko Slaughter and Aaron Beasley. The three amassed 134 tackles combined last season and will be anchors on a defensive front seven that will be much needed as they go through their SEC schedule. Beasley alone led the Vols with seventy-six tackles last season, including thirteen for loss.
Offense will have a question mark at quarterback for the Vols that will be filled by experienced senior, Joe Milton. Milton began his career at Michigan before transferring to the Vols in 2021. Milton has lost his starting job twice as a quarterback – once at Michigan and the latest coming in 2021 to Hendon Hooker. Here are the positives though.
Milton has now had two seasons on the bench to learn behind Hendon Hooker, and under quarterback guru and third year head coach, Josh Heupel.
Heupel has an offensive system that many think is more “plug and play” than mattering so much who the quarterback is at the controls. If this is the case, this bodes well for Milton and the Vols. If last year’s numbers are any indication, this could absolutely be true as the Vols led the FBS last season scoring 46.1 points per game .
Beyond the quarterback position, Tennessee football boasts a stable of running backs that sees returning lead backs Jabari Small and Jaylen Wright which could be a lethal 1-2 punch, especially to rely on early in the season as Milton gains confidence. Small and Wright combined for 1,609 yards out of the backfield last season.
Here are my predictions on how Tennessee football will fare game-by-game in 2023:
Tennessee Football 2023 Game-by-Game Predictions
Virginia (Knoxville, TN) – The Virginia Cavaliers went 3-7 last season in former Clemson defensive coordinator Tony Elliott’s first at the school and tied for last in the ACC Coastal. The Cavaliers will be breaking in a new starting quarterback this season. That combined with the game being in Knoxville in front of an anticipated sellout crowd, expect the Vols to take this one easily 42-3 in an impressive debut performance for Joe Milton that should give him confidence moving forward.
Austin Peay (Knoxville, TN) – This FCS opponent will not pose much of a threat for the Vols. And traditionally, unlike some teams that can fall victim to “trap games” with games like this, the Vols are not one of those, typically taking care of business against FCS opponents Ball State 59-10 last season and Akron 63-6. This is a great opportunity for the Vols to work on several things on both sides of the ball to prepare them for next weeks game as they begin SEC play against the Florida Gators. Expect the Vols to take this one 52-10
Florida (Gainesville, FL) – Last season, the Vols’ early season test came on the road against Pittsburgh where they won 34-27 in overtime. This saw the Vols soar with confidence. The close affair though begged the question; had the Vols lost that game, would their season have gone another direction? Well, this season we will find out as the Vols will lose a close one to the Gators 27-21. The Gators will feed off of their home crowd in this rivalry game, stifling the run game and frustrating Joe Milton. This will drop the Vols to 2-1 on the season.
UTSA (Knoxville, TN) – The UTSA Roadrunners went 11-3 last season under third year head coach Jeff Traylor, who enters his fourth season with the school going 30-10 in his first three seasons. The Vols will squeak this one out 35-28. It will be tough for the Vols coming off a loss to the Gators to be energized for this one, but their talent will get them by for a much-needed win as 3-1 sounds a lot better than 2-2.
South Carolina (Knoxville, TN) – This was a tough game for the Vols last year in Columbia as they fell to the Gamecocks 63-38 and lost their starting quarterback, Hendon Hooker, in the process. This one ended the Vols’ College Football Playoff hopes as well, and do not think they have forgotten. Expect the Vols to come into this one extremely motivated to take care of business combined with last season’s loss, and two lackluster performances in the two weeks prior to Florida and UTSA. The Vols will win this one 35-10 and feel better going into next week’s test against Texas A&M.
Texas A&M (Knoxville, TN) – Texas A&M will be much-improved this season boasting a starting quarterback in Conner Weigman who appeared in five games, throwing for 896 yards and no interceptions. This is the first time in awhile that the Aggies have had a starting quarterback they are supremely confident in based on track record with the team. Look for the Aggies to take this one 28-10 as the offense of the Vols struggles to find their rhythm. This will drop the Vols to 4-2 on the season, including two early SEC losses.
Alabama (Tuscaloosa, AL) – Tennessee defeated the Alabama Crimson Tide in Knoxville last year under the lights on a last second field goal. This was the first time the Vols had defeated the Tide in 15 years. The electric atmosphere helped to prepare the Vols, and it will do the same for Alabama in this intense rivalry. Look for Alabama to be intensely focused for this one after last years loss in which they had seventeen penalties defeating the Vols 52-10.
Kentucky (Lexington, KY) – The Vols will be at what many will say is a disappointing 4-3 entering this one against the Wildcats in another tough road test. It may be tough for the Vols to get up for this one despite it being a rivalry after the buildup and emotional and physical toll of last weeks game against the Tide. The Wildcats also bring in an offense that will be underrated by many featuring a fifth-year senior quarterback transfer in Devin Leary who has a wealth of starting experience during his time at NC State. A now experienced receiving core will also help to propel the Wildcats past the Vols 28-21. This rivalry means a lot to both sides, and especially Kentucky fans. So, expect a packed house as well as Kentucky should be performing better than most predict by this point in the season.
UConn (Knoxville, TN) – With the season all but lost in many’s eyes around Knoxville coming in with four SEC losses and no chance at a conference or national championship as well as already having two more losses than last season, look for a change at quarterback in this one. 2023 five-star quarterback recruit, Nicholas “Nico” Iamaleava will get his chance at leading the Vols against UConn as head coach Josh Heupel will utilize the rest of the season as a building opportunity towards their 2024 campaign. Expect Nico to light it up leading the Vols to a 42-3 victory against the Huskies. This will improve the Vols to 5-4.
Missouri (Columbia, MO) – The Vols will take this on 35-10, building on their momentum from last week against their win against UConn. Late in the season with weather potentially a factor, do not be surprised to see the Vols stick to the run game in this one racking up some serious yards. This will improve them to 6-4 on the season as they work towards trying to get to a respectable eight wins after a rough first half.
Georgia (Knoxville, TN) – Expect the Georgia Bulldogs to be 10-0 heading into this one and a heavy favorite. However, it is safe to assume that regardless of the Vols’ record, this one will probably be a sellout which will help motivate them. Even just keeping the game close would make the Vols feel a lot better coming off last year’s disappointing loss in Athens 27-13 where it was tough to get anything going offensively. Although experienced by this point in the season, the Bulldogs will bring in a first year starting quarterback into this one-regardless of who it is. And in a raucous environment, this will be advantageous for the Vols. Look for the Vols to have a strong defensive performance and win this one 17-10 upsetting the Bulldogs and handing them their first loss since December 4th, 2021, to the Crimson Tide.
Vanderbilt (Knoxville, TN) – The Vanderbilt Commodores will be better than people think this season as the return starting quarterback, AJ Swann and wide receiver, Will Sheppard, who led the SEC in receiving touchdowns last season.
Tennessee football will cap the season at 8-4 and end up in a decent bowl game, which I am sure for fans seemed bleak after a rough first half. Expect the Vols to be primed for a strong 2024 with “Nico” Iamaleava the unquestionable leader at quarterback.