A big number.
Tennessee opens the 2024 season in Knoxville this Saturday afternoon, set to take on the Chattanooga Mocs, who will take the short trip north for the game. The Volunteers open the season ranked 15th in the country, which sets them up to be in that College Football Playoff discussion down the road.
Saturday will serve as Nico Iamaleava’s first start at home, as the former five-star prospect looks to build off of a great start in the Citrus Bowl. Iamaleava will have a veteran offensive line in front of him, a legitimately deep wide receiver room, along with a big time playmaker in the backfield with Dylan Sampson. Pair that with a potentially elite defensive front and you can see why this staff really likes this team heading into the fall.
Chattanooga serves as the opening test for the Volunteers, coming off of an 8-5 season and an FCS Playoff appearance.
“Facing a Chattanooga team that’s a really good opponent, preseason ranked top-10 in their division,” Josh Heupel said of the Mocs. “Return a lot of really good players.”
Chase Artopoeus, a transfer quarterback from UCLA, threw for over 2,600 yards in just ten games last season before suffering an injury. He tossed 20 touchdowns and seven interceptions.
“Veteran quarterback that’s played at a really high level. Smart with football. Playmakers out on the outside. For us offensively, looking at them, they have explosive playmakers up front and you gotta do a really good job handling the line of scrimmage.”
Chattanooga opens the season ranked eighth in the FCS coaches poll.
Tennessee has settled into a 38.5 point favorite around most sportsbooks. The total is set at 57 points.
Kickoff is set for Saturday at 12:45 p.m. ET. SEC Network will have the call.