2025 Tennessee Football Preview Presented by GoldSheet | SEC Betting Predictions
The Tennessee football program was the first to make a major stand against a demanding player in the NIL era as the Vols let starting quarterback Nico Iamaleava leave for UCLA. Head coach Josh Heupel was willing to make a roster change instead of catering to the requests of his somewhat-controversial former quarterback. How will his team respond to that move in 2025?
2025 Tennessee Football Preview
SEC Betting Odds
| Team | 2024 Record | 2025 Win Total | SEC Odds | Nat’l Champ Odds |
| Alabama | 9-4 (5-3) | 9.5 (o -125 / u +105) | +380 | +1100 |
| Arkansas | 7-6 (3-5) | 5.5 (o +110 / u -130) | +15000 | +40000 |
| Auburn | 5-7 (2-6) | 7.5 (o -160 / u +135) | +2800 | +7000 |
| Florida | 8-5 (4-4) | 7.5 (o +115 / u -135) | +1800 | +4000 |
| Georgia | 11-3 (6-2) | 9.5 (o -170 / u +140) | +330 | +700 |
| Kentucky | 4-8 (1-7) | 4.5 (o -115 / u -105) | +25000 | +50000 |
| LSU | 9-4 (5-3) | 8.5 (o -140 / u +120) | +700 | +1800 |
| Ole Miss | 10-3 (5-3) | 8.5 (-110) | +1600 | +4500 |
| Mississippi St | 2-10 (0-8) | 3.5 (o -160 / u +135) | +50000 | +80000 |
| Missouri | 10-3 (5-3) | 7.5 (o +130 / u -155) | +6000 | +15000 |
| Oklahoma | 6-7 (2-6) | 6.5 (o -170 / u +140) | +2800 | +6500 |
| South Carolina | 9-4 (5-3) | 7.5 (o +125 / u -150) | +2500 | +6000 |
| Tennessee | 10-3 (6-2) | 8.5 (o +115 / u -135) | +2500 | +6000 |
| Texas | 13-3 (7-1) | 9.5 (o -170 / u +140) | +270 | +550 |
| Texas A&M | 8-5 (5-3) | 8.5 (o +125 / u -150) | +1500 | +4000 |
| Vanderbilt | 7-6 (3-5) | 5.5 (o +130 / u -155) | +20000 | +50000 |
Odds above courtesy of DraftKings as of July 26. The Volunteers went 10-3 straight-up, 7-6 against the spread last season en route to a College Football Playoff appearance. Tennessee won six of its last seven games to close the regular season, but the Vols were blown-out by Ohio State in the opening round of the playoffs.
2025 Tennessee Football Roster
Projected Returning Starters: 13 (Five on offense and eight on defense)
Projected Starting QB: Joey Aguilar (Transfer from App State)
Returning Production: 51-percent (39-percent on offense and 63-percent on defense)
Incoming Talent Class: No. 11 Nationally / No. 8 in SEC
Coaching Changes: No major changes. Head coach Josh Heupel, offensive coordinator Joey Halzle and defensive coordinator Tim Banks will all return.
Returning starters are courtesy of Phil Steele’s 2025 College Football Preview Magazine. Returning production is courtesy of Bill Connelly’s conference preview series at ESPN. Incoming talent rankings are courtesy of 247 Sports’ Composite Ratings, which capture the talent rankings of both incoming freshman and incoming transfers.
2024 Tennessee Football Stats
Strength of Schedule: No. 47 (courtesy of Jeff Sagarin)
Turnover Differential: +6 (No. 35 Nationally)
Plays per Game: 74.6 (No. 9)
Seconds per Play: 23.8 (No. 21)
Average Time of Possession: 29:34 (No. 79)
Tennessee Football Stats on Offense
Yards per Game: 447.0 (No. 15)
Points per Game: 35.7 (No. 12)
Yards per Play: 6.07 (No. 45)
Offensive Success Rate: 45.4-percent (No. 21)
Explosive Plays (20+ Yards): 59 (No. 61)
Net EPA per Play: +0.23 (No. 10)
Tennessee Football Stats on Defense
Yards per Game Allowed: 293.2 (No. 6)
Points per Game Allowed: 16.1 (No. 7)
Yards per Play Allowed: 4.56 (No. 5)
Defensive Success Rate: 35.0-percent (No. 2)
Explosive Plays Allowed (20+ Yards): 45 (No. 19)
Success Rate is an advanced metric that factors in the down and distance in relation to yards gained. A two-yard gain for a running back doesn’t look great in his overall box score, however a two-yard gain on 3rd-and-2 is a successful play. A low success rate on defense means you’re doing a good job of stopping the opponent from achieving successful plays. EPA stands for expected points added per play and it is a measure of how many points a team adds (or loses) on each play compared to the expected value.
2025 Tennessee Football Schedule
2025 Football GoldSheet Newsletter
Subscribe to the country’s longest-running sports betting newsletter for less than $10 per week. The Football GoldSheet will be your betting concierge through the 2025-26 football season, offering weekly NFL and NCAAF game previews, stat logs and much more. Early-bird subscribers will begin receiving preseason content in May as we recap the NFL draft and schedule release, plus season win totals and division previews.
WagerTalk Live Odds Screen
WagerTalk’s live odds screen features up-to-the-minute lines from a variety of offshore and domestic sports books. Track the moneylines, point spreads, totals and betting percentages for all of the Tennessee football games from their release in May all the way through Week 1 in August. Find free college football picks from season win total bets through National Championship futures on our free picks pages.
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