Coming off a heartbreaking loss to the Georgia Bulldogs last week, Tennessee football is back in action Saturday for its third straight home game. The Vols, at 2-1 and ranked No. 15 in both polls, also leave SEC play for their third non-conference game in four weeks, as they host the UAB Blazers.
Led by third-year head coach Trent Dilfer, UAB comes into this game at 2-1 after scoring a thrilling 31-28 victory over the Akron Zips last week. Of course, that was also a concern for the program given the fact that Akron is one of the worst teams in FBS this year.
This is the sixth matchup between the two schools, who first met in 1998. The last time they played was 2019, and UT won that one 30-7. UAB has never won a game in the series. Here is all the information you need for Saturday’s Tennessee football matchup.
UAB Blazers at Tennessee Volunteers
When: Saturday, Sept. 20
Where: Neyland Stadium; Knoxville, Tenn.
TV: SEC Network
Live stream: ESPN.com
Radio: Vol Network (click here for affiliates); UAB Blazers Radio Network (click here for affiliates)
Listen online: UTSports; TuneIn
Josh Heupel is 3-2 against schools from Alabama while head coach of the Vols, as he’s 2-2 against the Alabama Crimson Tide and beat the South Alabama Jaguars his first year on the job. It’s his first time facing UAB as a head coach despite coaching the UCF Knights for three years when they were in the American Athletic Conference.
Dilfer has ties to this UT team given his four years as head coach of Lipscomb Academy in Nashville from 2019 to 2022. Two Vol defenders, Kaleb Beasley and Edwin Spillman, played for him there. They were on the teams that won back to back state championships in 2021 and 2022.
As head coach of UAB, Dilfer is 9-18. He went 4-8 his first year and 3-9 last year despite the program enjoying six straight winning seasons dating back to when it was restored in 2017 after a three-year hiatus. UAB actually hadn’t had a losing season before Dilfer since 2013, so Dilfer does have pressure on him.
After this game, Tennessee football returns to SEC play with its first road game, at the Mississippi State Bulldogs next week, before going on a bye. UAB, meanwhile, has a bye next week before returning to AAC play with a matchup against the Army Black Knights. They lost their first AAC game, falling to the Navy Midshipmen in Week Two.
