Tennessee’s October stretch now has a time and a TV home.
The SEC announced Monday that the Vols’ home game against Auburn on Oct. 3 will kick at 3:30 p.m. and air on either ABC or ESPN. It lands as the third game in Tennessee’s three-game homestand and comes with a built-in coaching storyline, with Josh Heupel facing Alex Golesh, one of his former assistants and now the first-year head coach at Auburn.
Back in June, the conference labeled the Auburn matchup as one of Tennessee’s FLEX games, leaving open the possibility of an afternoon or primetime start. It ended up in the afternoon window, unlike the later November games against Kentucky on Nov. 7 and Vanderbilt on Nov. 28, both of which are night kickoffs. Tennessee’s trip to South Carolina on Oct. 24 has already been set for an afternoon start.
The Vols will be coming off a huge SEC opener against No. 1 Texas, with conference play rolling right through the start of October. Tennessee’s schedule has already taken on a familiar rhythm this season: an afternoon opener against Furman, then night games at Georgia Tech and against Kennesaw State, before the Texas game was locked in as the ABC noon kickoff earlier this summer.
Golesh’s Auburn team is 2-1 to start the year. He spent two seasons at Tennessee from 2021-22, then went 23-15 in three years as South Florida’s head coach before taking over the Tigers.
His connection with Heupel goes back to 2020 at UCF, where he served as co-offensive coordinator and tight ends coach after coaching stops at Toledo, Illinois and Iowa State. At Tennessee, he was a Broyles Award finalist in 2022, when the Vols won 11 games and led the nation in total offense and scoring.
Auburn’s staff is packed with Tennessee ties. The Tigers have former Vols staffers Tim Banks, Kodi Burns, Tyler Hudanick, Jacob Bronowski, Parker Ball, Micah James, Jack Taylor and Earnest Thomas III on the coaching staff, giving this one a little extra familiarity on both sidelines.
On the field, Auburn has already had a mixed start under Golesh. The Tigers opened by surviving Baylor in Atlanta, turning away a two-point conversion with seconds left in a 17-16 win.
They followed that with a 43-8 win over Southern Miss before dropping their SEC opener to Florida on Saturday in a matchup between two of the league’s new coaches. This week, Auburn hosts Vanderbilt at 4:15 p.m. on SEC Network before heading to Neyland Stadium for the first time since 2013.
Tennessee still trails Auburn 29-22-3 in the all-time series, and the Tigers have taken seven of the last eight meetings since 2003. Before that run, the Vols had gone seven straight without a loss in the series, including six wins and a tie in what had been a yearly SEC rivalry.
Against Auburn, Tennessee will also break out the “Neyland Legacy” version of its Smokey Grey alternate uniforms.
In Other News...
College GameDay Guest Picker For Tennessee Texas Could Spark Vols Debate
ESPNs College GameDay is headed to Knoxville for Tennessees showdown with Texas on Sept. 26, and the familiar guessing game is already underway around who will handle the celebrity guest picker role. When the show comes to a host campus, it usually leans into local flavor, and Tennessee has no shortage of recognizable names to choose from after years of memorable selections that mixed sports, music and comedy.
Rick Barnes, Bianca Belair, Candace Parker and Kenny Chesney are among the names being floated, which gives the Vols plenty to debate before the cameras ever arrive. The decision will matter less for the picks than for the vibe, since GameDay guest spots tend to become part of the weekends identity, especially when a major SEC matchup brings the kind of attention Knoxville is about to get. [Read more 🡒]
Former Vol Kaleb Beasley Is Creating An Uncomfortable Tennessee Question
Kaleb Beasleys move from Tennessee to Louisville has already turned into one of those transfer stories that lingers a little longer for Vols fans. The Nashville product was once viewed as a highly rated local recruit, and after spending time as a backup safety in Knoxville, he has started to find a bigger stage elsewhere. His recent showing in Louisvilles win over SMU made sure the attention followed him, because he was all over the field and came away with a performance that drew national and conference recognition.
For Tennessee, the uncomfortable part is simple: Beasley is suddenly looking like the kind of defensive back the Vols could have used. He led Louisville in tackles and picked off two passes in that game, then added the Walter Camp National Defensive Player of the Week and ACC Defensive Back of the Week honors to the resume. When a former in-state recruit starts stacking that kind of production after leaving town, it naturally invites a second look at how his path unfolded and what it means for the roster Tennessee is trying to build now. [Read more 🡒]
Rick Barnes Just Added More Emotion To Tennessee Vs Texas
Rick Barnes added a little more emotion to an already charged matchup by leaning into the history on both sides before Tennessee meets Texas. The Volunteers coach spent 17 years running the Longhorns program, so his perspective on this one comes with a built-in layer of familiarity, and he made clear he still carries good memories from that time while also showing appreciation for the athletic directors at both schools.
Barnes, though, left no doubt where his focus sits now. Ahead of the game, he spoke as a coach invested in Tennessee and its basketball program, which gives this meeting a little extra edge beyond the usual nonconference intrigue. For Tennessee fans, it is another reminder that this game is more than a reunion for Barnes, even if the details of that Texas connection still linger in the background. [Read more 🡒]