Coming off a 45-26 season-opening win over the Syracuse Orange in Atlanta, the Tennessee Vols are back in Knoxville for their home-opener Saturday afternoon. UT, ranked No. 22 in the AP Poll and No. 17 in the Coaches Poll, will face the East Tennessee State University Buccaneers at Neyland Stadium.
ETSU comes into the game 1-0 under first-year head coach Will Healy after beating the Murray State Racers 45-17 last Saturday. It is their first game on the road and the only game they will face against an FBS opponent all season. The Bucs are also the only FCS team UT will face.
This is the just the second meeting between the two schools. Tennessee and ETSU faced off in 2018 with the Vols winning 59-3. That was Jeremy Pruitt’s first win as head coach of the program. Here is all the information you need for Saturday’s matchup against ETSU.
East Tennessee State University at Tennessee Volunteers
When: Saturday, Sept. 6 at 3:30 p.m. ET
Where: Neyland Stadium; Knoxville, Tenn.
TV: SEC Network+/ESPN+
Live Stream: ESPN.com
Radio: Vol Network (click here for affiliates); Bucs Sports Network (WXSM-AM 640)
Listen online: UTSports; ListenLive (ETSU broadcast)
Josh Heupel began his fifth season as head coach of the Tennessee Vols with new starting quarterback Joey Aguilar at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Georgia last week. Aguilar’s 281 yards of total offense and 247 passing yards were the most by a quarterbacking making his UT debut under Heupel.
Going further than that, it was the most by a quarterback making his UT debut as a starter in general since Joshua Dobbs in 2013, but UT lost that game to the Missouri Tigers 31-3. It’s the most by a UT quarterback in his starting debut for the Vols in a win since Tyler Bray against the Memphis Tigers in 2010.
Most notably, it’s the most ever by a UT quarterback in his starting debut in a win over a Power Five school. Simply put, many Vol fans were more than happy with his performance and him replacing now-UCLA Bruins quarterback Nico Iamaleava, whose team lost 43-10 to the Utah Utes last week.
On the other side, ETSU has to quarterbacks with Power Five experience and uses both of them. Cade McNamara, their primary starter and a drop-back passer, was All Big Ten with the Michigan Wolverines in 2021 and also played for the Iowa Hawkeyes. Jacolby Criswell is the dual-threat who played for the North Carolina Tar Heels and Arkansas Razorbacks.
Against Murray State, though, their strength was their rush offense. Led by DeVontae Houston, who had 14 carries for 128 yards, the team had 392 yards on the ground. All Southern-Conference blocker Ashton Flinn is a key part of that offense, and the defense is no slouch either, as they had four sacks last week and are led by All-SoCon edge rusher Nick Hunter.
Healy takes over at ETSU three years after he was fired midseason by the Charlotte 49ers, his last coaching stint. He spent four seasons at Charlotte and three with the Austin Peay Governors before that, and his coaching record is 29-45. Last year, ETSU went 7-6 under Tre Lamb, who left the program after one season to take over the Tulsa Golden Hurricane.
