With Tennessee’s 2026 season creeping closer, the work at Neyland Stadium is already underway. The UT Grounds Crew has installed a new field at the historic venue, getting the grass in place before fall camp ramps up and before Josh Heupel enters his sixth season at the helm.
The crew documented the process on Instagram, posting clips and photos of the old surface coming out, the prep work that followed and the new real grass being laid down. It comes after a busy stretch at Neyland Stadium, which has hosted a Savannah Bananas game featuring a dirt baseball field and a Luke Combs concert since last season ended.
Tennessee’s first home game of 2026 will give that new surface an early test. Furman is set to visit on September 5, with kickoff scheduled for 3:30 p.m.
ET on SECN+/ESPN+. The Paladins will be the first opponent to play on the fresh grass.
The schedule then sends Tennessee to Georgia Tech before the Vols return home to face Kennesaw State on September 19 at 7:45 p.m. ET on SEC Network. The first SEC game on the new field comes the next week, when Texas arrives for a ‘Checker Neyland’ matchup on September 26 at noon ET on ABC or ESPN.
Auburn follows on October 3 in the FLEX window, then Tennessee heads to Arkansas before coming back for one of the season’s biggest home dates: Alabama on October 17 in the FLEX window for the Third Saturday in October. After a road trip to South Carolina, the Vols return to Knoxville for Kentucky on November 7 in a night game.
The closing stretch brings a road game at Texas A&M, then the final home game against LSU. Lane Kiffin’s return to Neyland Stadium is scheduled for November 21 in the FLEX window, and Tennessee finishes the season on the road at Vanderbilt.
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Tennessees Transfer Haul Just Earned A Ranking Vols Fans Will Debate
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Jalen Haralson, Terrence Hill and Juke Harris all landed in the mix, with Tennessee set to lean on a group that arrives from Notre Dame, VCU and Wake Forest, respectively. The ranking will only fuel the usual debate around how quickly portal-heavy teams can mesh, especially with several other highly regarded players on the schedule and plenty of chances for these new faces to prove the list right or wrong. [Read more 🡒]
Tennessee Is Getting Preseason Respect But Two Huge Questions Remain
Phil Steeles preseason list has given Tennessee a respectable early perch, slotting the Vols at No. 18 and eighth in the SEC. That kind of placement says there is real belief in what Josh Heupel has coming back, especially with a schedule that features several ranked league opponents and, in a helpful twist, most of those games set for Knoxville.
Even so, the optimism comes with two obvious asterisks. Tennessee is breaking in a new defensive system under coordinator Jim Knowles, and the offense still has to settle the most important spot on the field before anyone can treat the ranking as more than a summer snapshot. ESPN has pointed to the quarterback race as one of the biggest uncertainties in the country, which is exactly why the Vols ceiling feels so high and their floor still feels hard to pin down. [Read more 🡒]