Syracuse team news and notes.

#28
#28
I'll also add that we'll have a 17 year old starting at CB, who was 16 just a few months ago. Demetres Samuel Jr, remember the name. The staff truly feels he was a top 10 player in the Class of 2026, he reclassified and joined this year. Major talent that is going to be playing some WR as well. I should probably be terrified of a 17 year old starting, but im just gonna enjoy the ride
Oh great, another 17 year old for the announcers to remind us of
 
#31
#31
I think the reason this game may not be close is the line of scrimmage on both sides that is why NC State last year could not do anything. If Syracuse is not able to hang there this one will be ugly and a fast or dangerous receiver is neutralized.
 
#34
#34
I think the reason this game may not be close is the line of scrimmage on both sides that is why NC State last year could not do anything. If Syracuse is not able to hang there this one will be ugly and a fast or dangerous receiver is neutralized.
Most of my hope comes from you guys also having to replace 8 or 9 starters on offense? Correct me if I'm wrong on that. 1st game, both teams replacing a ton on Offense could mean low scoring. Anything could happen
 
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#35
#35
Most of my hope comes from you guys also having to replace 8 or 9 starters on offense? Correct me if I'm wrong on that. 1st game, both teams replacing a ton on Offense could mean low scoring. Anything could happen
I think a lot depends on how you guys decide to defend us. If you play 2 deep safeties we’re going to try and lean on the run game the way we did against State last season . That was death by a thousand paper cuts for them. If I’m you guys, I bring guys into the box and try and make Aguilar beat you. It’s high risk high reward, but as you pointed out, there are new guys starting on the line, a quarterback that’s been there since May and a new WR room.
 
#36
#36
Most of my hope comes from you guys also having to replace 8 or 9 starters on offense? Correct me if I'm wrong on that. 1st game, both teams replacing a ton on Offense could mean low scoring. Anything could happen

Our OL/WR/QB play should be better. Unlike Syracuse we are not replacing a prolific QB and WRs. In addition to being wildly inaccurate on downfield throws, Nico took a lot of unnecessary sacks which killed drives and JA is much better at avoiding sacks. The INTs don't really scare me because this offense does not generate many INTs. We will run run throw short, run run throw deep. Your defense was pretty bad last year when it comes to stopping the run. You allowed 5.3 yards per rush which was good for 117 out of 134. I will guess Heupel makes you prove you can stop the run.
 
#37
#37
Most of my hope comes from you guys also having to replace 8 or 9 starters on offense? Correct me if I'm wrong on that. 1st game, both teams replacing a ton on Offense could mean low scoring. Anything could happen

By far the biggest loss on offense was Dylan Sampson but that is the one position Tennessee has been pretty consistent under Heupel which is the running game. We will see how big of a loss Nico was on offense but he hampered a lot more drives than he did engineer them. I suspect at worse it will be a net wash at the qb position
 
#38
#38


How do you see this game playing out?

“I tend to see this as more of a low-scoring Tennessee win by roughly 10-14 points. While Syracuse does feel good about the talent they have on offense, it’s unproven and it’s understandable to be concerned about how its new-look offensive line will match up against a very-good SEC defense. Fran Brown has gotten Syracuse way more ready for this stage just based on the depth and size they have in the trenches. They will rotate bodies on the O-line and D-line liberally throughout the game to stay fresh. The culture around Syracuse is very impressive right now. Fran Brown has them working extremely hard in practice and they have full confidence they are going to win this game. My hunch is this might be too tough of an assignment for an inexperienced team in Week 1 though.”
 
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#41
#41
Our OL/WR/QB play should be better. Unlike Syracuse we are not replacing a prolific QB and WRs. In addition to being wildly inaccurate on downfield throws, Nico took a lot of unnecessary sacks which killed drives and JA is much better at avoiding sacks. The INTs don't really scare me because this offense does not generate many INTs. We will run run throw short, run run throw deep. Your defense was pretty bad last year when it comes to stopping the run. You allowed 5.3 yards per rush which was good for 117 out of 134. I will guess Heupel makes you prove you can stop the run.
I've re-watched the Florida and Oklahoma games over the last few days. With my orange colored glasses now removed, Nico wasn't anything to write home to momma about. He personally was responsible for leaving 21 points on the field against the lizards.
 
#42
#42
I think base case is Vols win but ‘Cuse covers because of their passing game. If Joey turns out to be good in our offense we might score 40 plus but I doubt it this early.
My prediction is 34-23 Vols.
ok a win is a win, but if our defense gives up 23 , I'll be a little concerned. All I'm hearing is the defense will be elite.
 
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#44
#44
This seems like a significant loss for 'Cuse

Mark PetryOGOut – KneeAug 15Petry suffered a torn ACL and will not take the field for the Orange. He will miss the entire 2025-26 season.

Redshirt Senior Year (2024): Started every game at guard ... Played 1,022 offensive snaps, nearly all at right guard ... Allowed just three sacks on 673 dropbacks ... Graded at 68.2 in pass blocking, according to Pro Football Focus and 62.9 overall ... Paved the way for LeQuint Allen Jr. to rush for over 1,000 yards ... Helped protect Kyle McCord to set the ACC and Syracuse passing yardage record and for the Orange to lead the nation in passing offense.
 
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#45
#45
The more I learn about Syracuse, the more confident I feel. I could be wrong, but I'm really not expecting it to be close. I don't believe they'll be able to score more than 21 points and I think we'll score at least in the 30s. Even their own media (while trying to sound confident) are pinning their hopes on Joey throwing two or more interceptions. He may have thrown a bunch of those in the past, but that was on other teams, in different offenses with different coaches. He is the QB in Josh Heupel's offense now. And one characteristic of Heupel's offenses is that his QBs do not throw a lot of INTs.

Yeah, Syracuse won 10 games last season. But if you look closely at who they played, it wasn't as big an accomplishment as it sounds, IMO. Plus, they lost a ton of players and have huge question marks all over the field -- much more so than we do. There is a reason why they are ranked 12th (out of 17 teams) in the ACC preseason rankings. We've played 3 comparable or better ACC teams in each of the past 3 seasons. The results? 3-0, with a combined score of 134-50.

We SHOULD dominate both sides of the line of scrimmage. I don't think they'll slow down our running game, which will keep the pressure off Joey and the receivers. At least in this game, we shouldn't need the passing game to be hitting on all cylinders. I expect we will execute pass plays that we feel confident about and Joey will probably pass for 150-200 yards. I think our special teams will shine.

I haven't seen any Vol fans who are predicting a loss, while it seems like the majority of Syracuse fans are hoping we'll somehow beat ourselves. We are 3-0 in the all-time series and should be 4-0 after Saturday.
Heck he might toss them a couple and still light them up.
 
#47
#47
Not saying it’s accurate but got a friend who is a die hard cuse fan and somewhat connected to the University he says he is hearing they think between 9-11k for Syracuse turnout. I think that seems a little high but who maybe not.
That is what I'm hearing as well. My source says 5k tickets have been purchased through Syracuse Athletics. A good number of fans just buy tickets on their own, so 9k would not suprise me
 
#48
#48
That is what I'm hearing as well. My source says 5k tickets have been purchased through Syracuse Athletics. A good number of fans just buy tickets on their own, so 9k would not suprise me
Asses in seats! 💺 The more the merrier. Hopefully there’s a great raucous crowd. A challenging game will enhance the atmosphere.
 
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