Tennessee Football Schedule 2026: Full Volunteers Slate, Dates, and Key Games

by

Neyland Stadium gets the SEC’s new nine-game format at full volume. The No. 20 Volunteers host five conference games in 2026 — Texas, Auburn, Alabama, Kentucky, and LSU — and Josh Heupel’s sixth team will face five opponents who finished in the final College Football Playoff top 25. It is, by almost any measure, the most demanding home schedule in the country.

SEC kickoff times are announced 6-12 days out based on TV selections, so check back weekly — this page is updated as times, networks, and results come in.

2026 Team Schedule
Tennessee Football Schedule
SEC · Neyland Stadium · Josh Heupel (6th year)
#20
Preseason AP Rank
7
Home Games
Sept 5
Opener vs Furman
Oct 17
Circle It: Alabama
Date Opponent Time (ET) / TV Result
Sat, Sept 5 vs Furman TBA —
Sat, Sept 12 at Georgia Tech TBA —
Sat, Sept 19 vs Kennesaw State TBA —
Sat, Sept 26 vs Texas TBA —
Sat, Oct 3 vs Auburn TBA —
Sat, Oct 10 at Arkansas TBA —
Sat, Oct 17 vs Alabama (Third Saturday in October) TBA —
Sat, Oct 24 at South Carolina TBA —
Sat, Oct 31 Bye Week — —
Sat, Nov 7 vs Kentucky TBA —
Sat, Nov 14 at Texas A&M TBA —
Sat, Nov 21 vs LSU (Senior Day) TBA —
Sat, Nov 28 at Vanderbilt TBA —

Games That Will Decide Tennessee’s Season

Sept 26 vs Texas The first regular-season meeting between the programs, and it lands in Knoxville in September against a top-five Longhorns team. A signature win here changes the entire season’s ceiling.
Oct 17 vs Alabama The Third Saturday in October, at home, with both teams ranked. Alabama is one of Tennessee’s three permanent annual opponents under the new SEC format.
Nov 14 at Texas A&M The toughest road date on the schedule, at Kyle Field against a top-10 Aggies team, sandwiched between Kentucky and LSU. A brutal spot on the calendar.
Nov 21 vs LSU Senior Day against Lane Kiffin’s LSU team, and just the second Neyland meeting between these two in the past decade. A late-November resume game.
Five Home SEC Games
Texas, Auburn, Alabama, Kentucky, and LSU all visit Neyland Stadium. Under the SEC’s new nine-game format, Tennessee’s permanent annual opponents are Alabama, Kentucky, and Vanderbilt.
Five Playoff-Ranked Foes
Tennessee plays five opponents who finished in the final CFP top 25 — a strength-of-schedule number that cuts both ways come selection time.
First Trip to Atlanta Since 1986
The Sept 12 game at Georgia Tech is Tennessee’s first appearance at Bobby Dodd Stadium since October 1986.

How the Schedule Sets Up

Two warmups and a road trip to Georgia Tech get the Vols to Sept 26, when the schedule turns on a dime: Texas, Auburn, at Arkansas, then Alabama on the Third Saturday in October. Four straight against SEC competition, three of them at home, will define the season before Halloween. The bye lands well — after South Carolina, before Kentucky — and November closes with Kentucky, the Texas A&M trip, LSU on Senior Day, and the annual finale in Nashville. A team that survives that gauntlet at 10-2 will have as strong a resume as anyone; here’s how the College Football Playoff works under the 12-team format. The move to nine conference games reflects the NCAA FBS shift toward tougher, TV-friendly slates.

The Bottom Line

Seven home games, Texas in September, Alabama on the Third Saturday in October, and LSU on Senior Day — Tennessee’s 2026 schedule offers more resume-building chances than almost anyone’s, and more ways to lose. Bookmark this page; times, networks, and results are updated throughout the season.