2014–2026 performance history

Tennessee over time

Season-by-season offense and defense game grades, with head-coaching changes placed on the timeline.

SECHead coach: Josh HeupelView Tennessee games →
Offense · 2026 estimate77.9/100

84.1 average through 1 game

77.1 prior · 8 equivalent games
Defense · 2026 estimate42.4/100

46.4 average through 1 game

41.9 prior · 8 equivalent games

The trajectory

Game and Season Unit Ratings

Each small dot is one offensive or defensive game rating, arranged in the order played. For completed seasons, the short bar is that season’s average game rating. Both dot and bar values are labeled on a percentile scale. For 2026, the bar is the Bayesian estimate, while the outlined circle is the empirical games-only mean. Labeled background bands show each head coach’s era.

Tennessee individual offense and defense game grades by seasonEach small point is one game. Horizontal bars show completed-season means and the Bayesian estimate for 2026. The outlined 2026 circle is the empirical games-only mean. Alternating labeled bands identify head-coaching eras.Jones · ’14–’17Butch Jones, 2014–2017Pruitt · ’18–’20Jeremy Pruitt, 2018–2020Heupel · ’21–’26Josh Heupel, 2021–2026offenseGame-grade percentile · higher is better9975502512014 Week 1: Tennessee vs. Utah State · W 38–7; offense 66.6 percentile2014 Week 2: Tennessee vs. Arkansas State · W 34–19; offense 52.6 percentile2014 Week 3: Tennessee at Oklahoma · L 10–34; offense 45.8 percentile2014 Week 5: Tennessee at Georgia · L 32–35; offense 44.2 percentile2014 Week 6: Tennessee vs. Florida · L 9–10; offense 18.2 percentile2014 Week 7: Tennessee vs. Chattanooga · W 45–10; offense 35.2 percentile2014 Week 8: Tennessee at Ole Miss · L 3–34; offense 3.5 percentile2014 Week 9: Tennessee vs. Alabama · L 20–34; offense 62.4 percentile2014 Week 10: Tennessee at South Carolina · W 45–42; offense 83.2 percentile2014 Week 12: Tennessee vs. Kentucky · W 50–16; offense 83.7 percentile2014 Week 13: Tennessee vs. Missouri · L 21–29; offense 16.1 percentile2014 Week 14: Tennessee at Vanderbilt · W 24–17; offense 11.9 percentile2014 Week 1: Tennessee vs. Iowa · W 45–28; offense 92.7 percentile2015 Week 1: Tennessee vs. Bowling Green · W 59–30; offense 97.1 percentile2015 Week 2: Tennessee vs. Oklahoma · L 24–31; offense 9.6 percentile2015 Week 3: Tennessee vs. Western Carolina · W 55–10; offense 42.0 percentile2015 Week 4: Tennessee at Florida · L 27–28; offense 78.4 percentile2015 Week 5: Tennessee vs. Arkansas · L 20–24; offense 21.4 percentile2015 Week 6: Tennessee vs. Georgia · W 38–31; offense 81.7 percentile2015 Week 8: Tennessee at Alabama · L 14–19; offense 82.2 percentile2015 Week 9: Tennessee at Kentucky · W 52–21; offense 86.0 percentile2015 Week 10: Tennessee vs. South Carolina · W 27–24; offense 31.6 percentile2015 Week 11: Tennessee vs. North Texas · W 24–0; offense 41.3 percentile2015 Week 12: Tennessee at Missouri · W 19–8; offense 50.4 percentile2015 Week 13: Tennessee vs. Vanderbilt · W 53–28; offense 98.6 percentile2015 Week 1: Tennessee vs. Northwestern · W 45–6; offense 88.3 percentile2016 Week 1: Tennessee vs. App State · W 20–13; offense 29.0 percentile2016 Week 2: Tennessee vs. Virginia Tech · W 45–24; offense 65.7 percentile2016 Week 3: Tennessee vs. Ohio · W 28–19; offense 85.0 percentile2016 Week 4: Tennessee vs. Florida · W 38–28; offense 86.6 percentile2016 Week 5: Tennessee at Georgia · W 34–31; offense 57.7 percentile2016 Week 7: Tennessee vs. Alabama · L 10–49; offense 14.5 percentile2016 Week 9: Tennessee at South Carolina · L 21–24; offense 9.9 percentile2016 Week 10: Tennessee vs. Tennessee Tech · W 55–0; offense 85.3 percentile2016 Week 11: Tennessee vs. Kentucky · W 49–36; offense 87.3 percentile2016 Week 12: Tennessee vs. Missouri · W 63–37; offense 97.7 percentile2016 Week 13: Tennessee at Vanderbilt · L 34–45; offense 92.6 percentile2016 Week 1: Tennessee vs. Nebraska · W 38–24; offense 84.5 percentile2017 Week 1: Tennessee vs. Georgia Tech · W 42–41; offense 78.1 percentile2017 Week 2: Tennessee vs. Indiana State · W 42–7; offense 24.7 percentile2017 Week 3: Tennessee at Florida · L 20–26; offense 60.2 percentile2017 Week 4: Tennessee vs. Massachusetts · W 17–13; offense 7.2 percentile2017 Week 5: Tennessee vs. Georgia · L 0–41; offense 3.8 percentile2017 Week 7: Tennessee vs. South Carolina · L 9–15; offense 22.5 percentile2017 Week 8: Tennessee at Alabama · L 7–45; offense 11.8 percentile2017 Week 9: Tennessee at Kentucky · L 26–29; offense 42.2 percentile2017 Week 10: Tennessee vs. Southern Miss · W 24–10; offense 24.0 percentile2017 Week 11: Tennessee at Missouri · L 17–50; offense 21.5 percentile2017 Week 12: Tennessee vs. LSU · L 10–30; offense 15.1 percentile2017 Week 13: Tennessee vs. Vanderbilt · L 24–42; offense 23.6 percentile2018 Week 1: Tennessee vs. West Virginia · L 14–40; offense 20.8 percentile2018 Week 2: Tennessee vs. East Tennessee State · W 59–3; offense 34.4 percentile2018 Week 3: Tennessee vs. UTEP · W 24–0; offense 78.4 percentile2018 Week 4: Tennessee vs. Florida · L 21–47; offense 15.5 percentile2018 Week 5: Tennessee at Georgia · L 12–38; offense 29.9 percentile2018 Week 7: Tennessee at Auburn · W 30–24; offense 56.2 percentile2018 Week 8: Tennessee vs. Alabama · L 21–58; offense 28.9 percentile2018 Week 9: Tennessee at South Carolina · L 24–27; offense 68.2 percentile2018 Week 10: Tennessee vs. Charlotte · W 14–3; offense 2.6 percentile2018 Week 11: Tennessee vs. Kentucky · W 24–7; offense 49.2 percentile2018 Week 12: Tennessee vs. Missouri · L 17–50; offense 37.3 percentile2018 Week 13: Tennessee at Vanderbilt · L 13–38; offense 10.2 percentile2019 Week 1: Tennessee vs. Georgia State · L 30–38; offense 34.2 percentile2019 Week 2: Tennessee vs. BYU · L 26–29; offense 38.3 percentile2019 Week 3: Tennessee vs. Chattanooga · W 45–0; offense 59.3 percentile2019 Week 4: Tennessee at Florida · L 3–34; offense 27.2 percentile2019 Week 6: Tennessee vs. Georgia · L 14–43; offense 60.8 percentile2019 Week 7: Tennessee vs. Mississippi State · W 20–10; offense 32.5 percentile2019 Week 8: Tennessee at Alabama · L 13–35; offense 52.3 percentile2019 Week 9: Tennessee vs. South Carolina · W 41–21; offense 57.1 percentile2019 Week 10: Tennessee vs. UAB · W 30–7; offense 54.0 percentile2019 Week 11: Tennessee at Kentucky · W 17–13; offense 63.7 percentile2019 Week 13: Tennessee at Missouri · W 24–20; offense 91.6 percentile2019 Week 14: Tennessee vs. Vanderbilt · W 28–10; offense 61.6 percentile2019 Week 1: Tennessee vs. Indiana · W 23–22; offense 61.7 percentile2020 Week 4: Tennessee at South Carolina · W 31–27; offense 30.5 percentile2020 Week 5: Tennessee vs. Missouri · W 35–12; offense 73.3 percentile2020 Week 6: Tennessee at Georgia · L 21–44; offense 12.0 percentile2020 Week 7: Tennessee vs. Kentucky · L 7–34; offense 37.2 percentile2020 Week 8: Tennessee vs. Alabama · L 17–48; offense 29.1 percentile2020 Week 10: Tennessee at Arkansas · L 13–24; offense 8.8 percentile2020 Week 12: Tennessee at Auburn · L 17–30; offense 79.0 percentile2020 Week 14: Tennessee vs. Florida · L 19–31; offense 9.4 percentile2020 Week 15: Tennessee at Vanderbilt · W 42–17; offense 69.1 percentile2020 Week 16: Tennessee vs. Texas A&M · L 13–34; offense 41.4 percentile2021 Week 1: Tennessee vs. Bowling Green · W 38–6; offense 68.3 percentile2021 Week 2: Tennessee vs. Pittsburgh · L 34–41; offense 55.7 percentile2021 Week 3: Tennessee vs. Tennessee Tech · W 56–0; offense 33.2 percentile2021 Week 4: Tennessee at Florida · L 14–38; offense 54.9 percentile2021 Week 6: Tennessee vs. South Carolina · W 45–20; offense 91.4 percentile2021 Week 7: Tennessee vs. Ole Miss · L 26–31; offense 57.6 percentile2021 Week 8: Tennessee at Alabama · L 24–52; offense 68.1 percentile2021 Week 10: Tennessee at Kentucky · W 45–42; offense 78.3 percentile2021 Week 11: Tennessee vs. Georgia · L 17–41; offense 56.7 percentile2021 Week 1: Tennessee vs. Purdue · L 45–48; offense 85.1 percentile2022 Week 1: Tennessee vs. Ball State · W 59–10; offense 82.4 percentile2022 Week 2: Tennessee at Pittsburgh · W 34–27; offense 43.2 percentile2022 Week 3: Tennessee vs. Akron · W 63–6; offense 97.5 percentile2022 Week 4: Tennessee vs. Florida · W 38–33; offense 87.4 percentile2022 Week 6: Tennessee at LSU · W 40–13; offense 91.7 percentile2022 Week 7: Tennessee vs. Alabama · W 52–49; offense 97.4 percentile2022 Week 8: Tennessee vs. UT Martin · W 65–24; offense 79.7 percentile2022 Week 9: Tennessee vs. Kentucky · W 44–6; offense 95.2 percentile2022 Week 10: Tennessee at Georgia · L 13–27; offense 30.0 percentile2022 Week 11: Tennessee vs. Missouri · W 66–24; offense 98.1 percentile2022 Week 12: Tennessee at South Carolina · L 38–63; offense 73.6 percentile2022 Week 13: Tennessee at Vanderbilt · W 56–0; offense 69.4 percentile2022 Week 1: Tennessee vs. Clemson · W 31–14; offense 49.2 percentile2023 Week 1: Tennessee vs. Virginia · W 49–13; offense 77.3 percentile2023 Week 2: Tennessee vs. Austin Peay · W 30–13; offense 31.3 percentile2023 Week 3: Tennessee at Florida · L 16–29; offense 31.0 percentile2023 Week 4: Tennessee vs. UTSA · W 45–14; offense 93.9 percentile2023 Week 5: Tennessee vs. South Carolina · W 41–20; offense 84.7 percentile2023 Week 7: Tennessee vs. Texas A&M · W 20–13; offense 35.2 percentile2023 Week 8: Tennessee at Alabama · L 20–34; offense 68.0 percentile2023 Week 9: Tennessee at Kentucky · W 33–27; offense 88.6 percentile2023 Week 10: Tennessee vs. UConn · W 59–3; offense 99.5 percentile2023 Week 11: Tennessee at Missouri · L 7–36; offense 33.1 percentile2023 Week 12: Tennessee vs. Georgia · L 10–38; offense 42.6 percentile2023 Week 13: Tennessee vs. Vanderbilt · W 48–24; offense 91.0 percentile2023 Week 1: Tennessee vs. Iowa · W 35–0; offense 86.3 percentile2024 Week 1: Tennessee vs. Chattanooga · W 69–3; offense 83.8 percentile2024 Week 2: Tennessee vs. NC State · W 51–10; offense 87.4 percentile2024 Week 3: Tennessee vs. Kent State · W 71–0; offense 96.0 percentile2024 Week 4: Tennessee at Oklahoma · W 25–15; offense 23.7 percentile2024 Week 6: Tennessee at Arkansas · L 14–19; offense 46.6 percentile2024 Week 7: Tennessee vs. Florida · W 23–17; offense 10.2 percentile2024 Week 8: Tennessee vs. Alabama · W 24–17; offense 76.8 percentile2024 Week 10: Tennessee vs. Kentucky · W 28–18; offense 74.6 percentile2024 Week 11: Tennessee vs. Mississippi State · W 33–14; offense 31.5 percentile2024 Week 12: Tennessee at Georgia · L 17–31; offense 68.8 percentile2024 Week 13: Tennessee vs. UTEP · W 56–0; offense 93.6 percentile2024 Week 14: Tennessee at Vanderbilt · W 36–23; offense 93.0 percentile2024 Week 1: Tennessee at Ohio State · L 17–42; offense 52.8 percentile2025 Week 1: Tennessee vs. Syracuse · W 45–26; offense 66.7 percentile2025 Week 2: Tennessee vs. East Tennessee State · W 72–17; offense 60.6 percentile2025 Week 3: Tennessee vs. Georgia · L 41–44; offense 90.3 percentile2025 Week 4: Tennessee vs. UAB · W 56–24; offense 82.7 percentile2025 Week 5: Tennessee at Mississippi State · W 41–34; offense 54.6 percentile2025 Week 7: Tennessee vs. Arkansas · W 34–31; offense 50.3 percentile2025 Week 8: Tennessee at Alabama · L 20–37; offense 69.3 percentile2025 Week 9: Tennessee at Kentucky · W 56–34; offense 96.8 percentile2025 Week 10: Tennessee vs. Oklahoma · L 27–33; offense 92.4 percentile2025 Week 12: Tennessee vs. New Mexico State · W 42–9; offense 71.3 percentile2025 Week 13: Tennessee at Florida · W 31–11; offense 89.6 percentile2025 Week 14: Tennessee vs. Vanderbilt · L 24–45; offense 54.3 percentile2025 Week 1: Tennessee vs. Illinois · L 28–30; offense 80.2 percentile2026 Week 1: Tennessee vs. Furman · W 56–9; offense 84.1 percentile2014 offense season mean: 45.9 percentile2015 offense season mean: 67.7 percentile2016 offense season mean: 70.6 percentile2017 offense season mean: 24.5 percentile2018 offense season mean: 32.5 percentile2019 offense season mean: 54.3 percentile2020 offense season mean: 36.2 percentile2021 offense season mean: 66.8 percentile2022 offense season mean: 82.9 percentile2023 offense season mean: 73.2 percentile2024 offense season mean: 68.5 percentile2025 offense season mean: 77.1 percentile2026 offense Bayesian estimate: 77.9 percentile2026 offense empirical mean: 84.1 percentiledefenseGame-grade percentile · higher is better9975502512014 Week 1: Tennessee vs. Utah State · W 38–7; defense 93.3 percentile2014 Week 2: Tennessee vs. Arkansas State · W 34–19; defense 83.9 percentile2014 Week 3: Tennessee at Oklahoma · L 10–34; defense 69.7 percentile2014 Week 5: Tennessee at Georgia · L 32–35; defense 86.9 percentile2014 Week 6: Tennessee vs. Florida · L 9–10; defense 91.3 percentile2014 Week 7: Tennessee vs. Chattanooga · W 45–10; defense 73.1 percentile2014 Week 8: Tennessee at Ole Miss · L 3–34; defense 65.9 percentile2014 Week 9: Tennessee vs. Alabama · L 20–34; defense 38.5 percentile2014 Week 10: Tennessee at South Carolina · W 45–42; defense 5.4 percentile2014 Week 12: Tennessee vs. Kentucky · W 50–16; defense 77.3 percentile2014 Week 13: Tennessee vs. Missouri · L 21–29; defense 31.5 percentile2014 Week 14: Tennessee at Vanderbilt · W 24–17; defense 72.1 percentile2014 Week 1: Tennessee vs. Iowa · W 45–28; defense 67.5 percentile2015 Week 1: Tennessee vs. Bowling Green · W 59–30; defense 84.0 percentile2015 Week 2: Tennessee vs. Oklahoma · L 24–31; defense 91.9 percentile2015 Week 3: Tennessee vs. Western Carolina · W 55–10; defense 56.8 percentile2015 Week 4: Tennessee at Florida · L 27–28; defense 30.8 percentile2015 Week 5: Tennessee vs. Arkansas · L 20–24; defense 67.9 percentile2015 Week 6: Tennessee vs. Georgia · W 38–31; defense 44.0 percentile2015 Week 8: Tennessee at Alabama · L 14–19; defense 71.7 percentile2015 Week 9: Tennessee at Kentucky · W 52–21; defense 52.6 percentile2015 Week 10: Tennessee vs. South Carolina · W 27–24; defense 64.1 percentile2015 Week 11: Tennessee vs. North Texas · W 24–0; defense 88.8 percentile2015 Week 12: Tennessee at Missouri · W 19–8; defense 74.6 percentile2015 Week 13: Tennessee vs. Vanderbilt · W 53–28; defense 11.2 percentile2015 Week 1: Tennessee vs. Northwestern · W 45–6; defense 51.0 percentile2016 Week 1: Tennessee vs. App State · W 20–13; defense 90.7 percentile2016 Week 2: Tennessee vs. Virginia Tech · W 45–24; defense 78.7 percentile2016 Week 3: Tennessee vs. Ohio · W 28–19; defense 67.0 percentile2016 Week 4: Tennessee vs. Florida · W 38–28; defense 39.5 percentile2016 Week 5: Tennessee at Georgia · W 34–31; defense 50.2 percentile2016 Week 7: Tennessee vs. Alabama · L 10–49; defense 23.9 percentile2016 Week 9: Tennessee at South Carolina · L 21–24; defense 50.0 percentile2016 Week 10: Tennessee vs. Tennessee Tech · W 55–0; defense 81.1 percentile2016 Week 11: Tennessee vs. Kentucky · W 49–36; defense 51.2 percentile2016 Week 12: Tennessee vs. Missouri · W 63–37; defense 8.4 percentile2016 Week 13: Tennessee at Vanderbilt · L 34–45; defense 14.8 percentile2016 Week 1: Tennessee vs. Nebraska · W 38–24; defense 90.2 percentile2017 Week 1: Tennessee vs. Georgia Tech · W 42–41; defense 10.0 percentile2017 Week 2: Tennessee vs. Indiana State · W 42–7; defense 54.6 percentile2017 Week 3: Tennessee at Florida · L 20–26; defense 42.8 percentile2017 Week 4: Tennessee vs. Massachusetts · W 17–13; defense 78.6 percentile2017 Week 5: Tennessee vs. Georgia · L 0–41; defense 53.0 percentile2017 Week 7: Tennessee vs. South Carolina · L 9–15; defense 43.0 percentile2017 Week 8: Tennessee at Alabama · L 7–45; defense 15.1 percentile2017 Week 9: Tennessee at Kentucky · L 26–29; defense 14.6 percentile2017 Week 10: Tennessee vs. Southern Miss · W 24–10; defense 88.6 percentile2017 Week 11: Tennessee at Missouri · L 17–50; defense 8.0 percentile2017 Week 12: Tennessee vs. LSU · L 10–30; defense 48.1 percentile2017 Week 13: Tennessee vs. Vanderbilt · L 24–42; defense 0.4 percentile2018 Week 1: Tennessee vs. West Virginia · L 14–40; defense 3.5 percentile2018 Week 2: Tennessee vs. East Tennessee State · W 59–3; defense 66.8 percentile2018 Week 3: Tennessee vs. UTEP · W 24–0; defense 87.0 percentile2018 Week 4: Tennessee vs. Florida · L 21–47; defense 46.0 percentile2018 Week 5: Tennessee at Georgia · L 12–38; defense 41.8 percentile2018 Week 7: Tennessee at Auburn · W 30–24; defense 35.3 percentile2018 Week 8: Tennessee vs. Alabama · L 21–58; defense 22.1 percentile2018 Week 9: Tennessee at South Carolina · L 24–27; defense 31.5 percentile2018 Week 10: Tennessee vs. Charlotte · W 14–3; defense 81.2 percentile2018 Week 11: Tennessee vs. Kentucky · W 24–7; defense 93.9 percentile2018 Week 12: Tennessee vs. Missouri · L 17–50; defense 21.4 percentile2018 Week 13: Tennessee at Vanderbilt · L 13–38; defense 48.9 percentile2019 Week 1: Tennessee vs. Georgia State · L 30–38; defense 34.7 percentile2019 Week 2: Tennessee vs. BYU · L 26–29; defense 85.0 percentile2019 Week 3: Tennessee vs. Chattanooga · W 45–0; defense 61.7 percentile2019 Week 4: Tennessee at Florida · L 3–34; defense 49.3 percentile2019 Week 6: Tennessee vs. Georgia · L 14–43; defense 6.1 percentile2019 Week 7: Tennessee vs. Mississippi State · W 20–10; defense 61.1 percentile2019 Week 8: Tennessee at Alabama · L 13–35; defense 48.9 percentile2019 Week 9: Tennessee vs. South Carolina · W 41–21; defense 49.5 percentile2019 Week 10: Tennessee vs. UAB · W 30–7; defense 64.2 percentile2019 Week 11: Tennessee at Kentucky · W 17–13; defense 80.6 percentile2019 Week 13: Tennessee at Missouri · W 24–20; defense 75.2 percentile2019 Week 14: Tennessee vs. Vanderbilt · W 28–10; defense 48.0 percentile2019 Week 1: Tennessee vs. Indiana · W 23–22; defense 93.6 percentile2020 Week 4: Tennessee at South Carolina · W 31–27; defense 59.0 percentile2020 Week 5: Tennessee vs. Missouri · W 35–12; defense 42.8 percentile2020 Week 6: Tennessee at Georgia · L 21–44; defense 69.9 percentile2020 Week 7: Tennessee vs. Kentucky · L 7–34; defense 35.9 percentile2020 Week 8: Tennessee vs. Alabama · L 17–48; defense 46.2 percentile2020 Week 10: Tennessee at Arkansas · L 13–24; defense 34.3 percentile2020 Week 12: Tennessee at Auburn · L 17–30; defense 25.5 percentile2020 Week 14: Tennessee vs. Florida · L 19–31; defense 74.0 percentile2020 Week 15: Tennessee at Vanderbilt · W 42–17; defense 91.0 percentile2020 Week 16: Tennessee vs. Texas A&M · L 13–34; defense 14.5 percentile2021 Week 1: Tennessee vs. Bowling Green · W 38–6; defense 89.3 percentile2021 Week 2: Tennessee vs. Pittsburgh · L 34–41; defense 62.8 percentile2021 Week 3: Tennessee vs. Tennessee Tech · W 56–0; defense 66.1 percentile2021 Week 4: Tennessee at Florida · L 14–38; defense 6.6 percentile2021 Week 6: Tennessee vs. South Carolina · W 45–20; defense 40.6 percentile2021 Week 7: Tennessee vs. Ole Miss · L 26–31; defense 34.5 percentile2021 Week 8: Tennessee at Alabama · L 24–52; defense 22.3 percentile2021 Week 10: Tennessee at Kentucky · W 45–42; defense 23.6 percentile2021 Week 11: Tennessee vs. Georgia · L 17–41; defense 26.0 percentile2021 Week 1: Tennessee vs. Purdue · L 45–48; defense 31.4 percentile2022 Week 1: Tennessee vs. Ball State · W 59–10; defense 89.8 percentile2022 Week 2: Tennessee at Pittsburgh · W 34–27; defense 73.5 percentile2022 Week 3: Tennessee vs. Akron · W 63–6; defense 84.0 percentile2022 Week 4: Tennessee vs. Florida · W 38–33; defense 21.8 percentile2022 Week 6: Tennessee at LSU · W 40–13; defense 97.6 percentile2022 Week 7: Tennessee vs. Alabama · W 52–49; defense 35.9 percentile2022 Week 8: Tennessee vs. UT Martin · W 65–24; defense 56.6 percentile2022 Week 9: Tennessee vs. Kentucky · W 44–6; defense 87.9 percentile2022 Week 10: Tennessee at Georgia · L 13–27; defense 84.2 percentile2022 Week 11: Tennessee vs. Missouri · W 66–24; defense 50.4 percentile2022 Week 12: Tennessee at South Carolina · L 38–63; defense 10.8 percentile2022 Week 13: Tennessee at Vanderbilt · W 56–0; defense 99.9 percentile2022 Week 1: Tennessee vs. Clemson · W 31–14; defense 80.2 percentile2023 Week 1: Tennessee vs. Virginia · W 49–13; defense 95.6 percentile2023 Week 2: Tennessee vs. Austin Peay · W 30–13; defense 27.7 percentile2023 Week 3: Tennessee at Florida · L 16–29; defense 54.6 percentile2023 Week 4: Tennessee vs. UTSA · W 45–14; defense 82.0 percentile2023 Week 5: Tennessee vs. South Carolina · W 41–20; defense 54.0 percentile2023 Week 7: Tennessee vs. Texas A&M · W 20–13; defense 98.0 percentile2023 Week 8: Tennessee at Alabama · L 20–34; defense 69.5 percentile2023 Week 9: Tennessee at Kentucky · W 33–27; defense 31.3 percentile2023 Week 10: Tennessee vs. UConn · W 59–3; defense 60.6 percentile2023 Week 11: Tennessee at Missouri · L 7–36; defense 21.2 percentile2023 Week 12: Tennessee vs. Georgia · L 10–38; defense 25.1 percentile2023 Week 13: Tennessee vs. Vanderbilt · W 48–24; defense 44.8 percentile2023 Week 1: Tennessee vs. Iowa · W 35–0; defense 74.4 percentile2024 Week 1: Tennessee vs. Chattanooga · W 69–3; defense 71.5 percentile2024 Week 2: Tennessee vs. NC State · W 51–10; defense 99.4 percentile2024 Week 3: Tennessee vs. Kent State · W 71–0; defense 45.5 percentile2024 Week 4: Tennessee at Oklahoma · W 25–15; defense 98.0 percentile2024 Week 6: Tennessee at Arkansas · L 14–19; defense 81.5 percentile2024 Week 7: Tennessee vs. Florida · W 23–17; defense 85.1 percentile2024 Week 8: Tennessee vs. Alabama · W 24–17; defense 97.9 percentile2024 Week 10: Tennessee vs. Kentucky · W 28–18; defense 44.4 percentile2024 Week 11: Tennessee vs. Mississippi State · W 33–14; defense 68.5 percentile2024 Week 12: Tennessee at Georgia · L 17–31; defense 31.4 percentile2024 Week 13: Tennessee vs. UTEP · W 56–0; defense 89.9 percentile2024 Week 14: Tennessee at Vanderbilt · W 36–23; defense 62.6 percentile2024 Week 1: Tennessee at Ohio State · L 17–42; defense 37.2 percentile2025 Week 1: Tennessee vs. Syracuse · W 45–26; defense 37.3 percentile2025 Week 2: Tennessee vs. East Tennessee State · W 72–17; defense 61.1 percentile2025 Week 3: Tennessee vs. Georgia · L 41–44; defense 42.7 percentile2025 Week 4: Tennessee vs. UAB · W 56–24; defense 86.6 percentile2025 Week 5: Tennessee at Mississippi State · W 41–34; defense 51.1 percentile2025 Week 7: Tennessee vs. Arkansas · W 34–31; defense 28.0 percentile2025 Week 8: Tennessee at Alabama · L 20–37; defense 44.7 percentile2025 Week 9: Tennessee at Kentucky · W 56–34; defense 16.9 percentile2025 Week 10: Tennessee vs. Oklahoma · L 27–33; defense 16.5 percentile2025 Week 12: Tennessee vs. New Mexico State · W 42–9; defense 86.7 percentile2025 Week 13: Tennessee at Florida · W 31–11; defense 73.2 percentile2025 Week 14: Tennessee vs. Vanderbilt · L 24–45; defense 2.3 percentile2025 Week 1: Tennessee vs. Illinois · L 28–30; defense 25.4 percentile2026 Week 1: Tennessee vs. Furman · W 56–9; defense 46.4 percentile2014 defense season mean: 67.5 percentile2015 defense season mean: 62.3 percentile2016 defense season mean: 54.6 percentile2017 defense season mean: 32.0 percentile2018 defense season mean: 48.1 percentile2019 defense season mean: 59.1 percentile2020 defense season mean: 49.9 percentile2021 defense season mean: 39.1 percentile2022 defense season mean: 75.3 percentile2023 defense season mean: 61.1 percentile2024 defense season mean: 78.2 percentile2025 defense season mean: 41.9 percentile2026 defense Bayesian estimate: 42.4 percentile2026 defense empirical mean: 46.4 percentile2014201520162017201820192020202120222023202420252026
Individual gameSeason bar · 2026 is the estimate2026 empirical meanCoaching-era band
2017Butch Jones / Brady Hoke
2018Jeremy Pruitt
2021Josh Heupel

How to read 2026

The current-season estimate intelligently blends last season with new data.

The 2026 estimate is a Bayesian weighted average of normal-score Z-values. The 2025 season mean counts like 8 games of prior evidence; each completed 2026 game counts once. The result is then translated back to the 0–100 percentile scale.

2026 Z = (8 × 2025 mean Z + games played × 2026 mean Z) ÷ (8 + games played)

Season record

Every annual grade and coach

Retrospective rows average the available single-game grades in normal-score space. The result is shown as a percentile. Roughly speaking, a 95th-percentile season corresponds to about the eighth-best team in a 160-team field.

SeasonHead coachGamesOffenseDefense
2026Live estimateJosh Heupel1
77.9 estimate84.1 games-only average
42.4 estimate46.4 games-only average
2025Josh Heupel1377.141.9
2024Josh Heupel1368.578.2
2023Josh Heupel1373.261.1
2022Josh Heupel1382.975.3
2021Josh HeupelCoaching change1066.839.1
2020Jeremy Pruitt1036.249.9
2019Jeremy Pruitt1354.359.1
2018Jeremy PruittCoaching change1232.548.1
2017Butch Jones / Brady HokeCoaching change1224.532.0
2016Butch Jones1270.654.6
2015Butch Jones1367.762.3
2014Butch Jones1345.967.5