NEED TO KNOW
Senior Day
Fans are encouraged to arrive and get to their seats early as Saturday will serve as Tennessee's Senior Day. The Vols' senior class will be honored before the game with the ceremony slated to begin approximately 25 minutes prior to kickoff.
Last Time Out
Tennessee scored touchdowns on its first four possessions as it dominated South Alabama by a score of 60-14 last Saturday night in Neyland Stadium. Hendon Hooker finished 17-of-20 for 273 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions, while adding a 6-yard rushing score. His 85 percent completion percentage was a career high. The Vols didn't punt until the 8:17 mark in the fourth quarter and forced USA to punt on six of its first eight possessions. It also ended two Jaguar drives on downs and two more via safeties, a first for the program since 1989. The Vols held USA to 1-of-16 on third down. Velus Jones Jr. returned a kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown late in the second quarter, representing UT's first since 2017. Jones (103) and Cedric Tillman (100) each went over 100 yards receiving. Defensively, linebacker Jeremy Banks led all tacklers with seven.
We're Going Bowling!
For the 54th time in program history, UT will take part in a postseason bowl game after securing bowl eligibility with their victory over the Jaguars last Saturday. The Vols will learn their bowl destination on Sunday, Dec. 5. Tennessee's 54 all-time bowl appearances would rank fifth nationally behind Alabama, Georgia, Texas and Oklahoma.
Playing Fast
A Josh Heupel specialty, Tennessee leads the nation in offensive plays per minute at 2.95. Ole Miss is second at 2.88. By comparison, the Vols averaged 2.36 a year ago, which was 58th in the FBS. UT averages 1.58 points per minute, which ranks second in the FBS (Ohio State - 1.60) and tops in the SEC. From 2018-20, Heupel's UCF teams averaged a nation-high 3.04 plays per minute.
Tillman Nearing the 1,000-Yard Mark
Redshirt junior wideout Cedric Tillman has emerged as one of the SEC's top receivers this season, ranking sixth in the conference with a team-high 825 receiving yards, tied for seventh with seven touchdown catches and seventh in yards per reception (16.18). He is aiming to become just the eighth player in program history to reach 1,000 yards receiving in a season and the first since Justin Hunter (1,083) in 2012.
Tillman has recorded at least five catches in six straight games and has also caught at least one touchdown pass in five consecutive games, becoming the first Vol to achieve that feat since Josh Malone did so in the last five games of the 2016 season.
BIG 