The team finished the season 4–8, 0–8 in SEC play in last place in the Eastern Division and the SEC. They were the first Tennessee team in program history to lose eight games in a season, as well as the first to not win an SEC game since becoming a charter member of the conference in 1932.[3]
Offseason
Departures
Departures of scholarship players from the 2016 team.
Tennessee announced its 2017 football schedule on September 13, 2016. The 2017 schedule consisted of seven home games, four away, and one neutral site game in the regular season. The Volunteers hosted SEC foes Georgia, South Carolina, LSU, and Vanderbilt, and traveled to Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, and Missouri.[8]
Referee: John O'Neill • Umpire: Rob. Colosimo • Linesman: William Sutter • Line Judge: P. Engelberts • Back Judge: Mich. Elliott • Field Judge: Gary Powers • Side Judge: Stephen Hassel
Marquez Callaway 10-yard pass from Quinten Dormady (Medley kick)
GT 21–14
4
13:08
GT
Marshall 6-yard run (Davis kick)
GT 28–14
4
11:49
TENN
Callaway 50-yard pass from Dormady (Medley kick)
GT 28–21
4
1:29
TENN
Kelly 11-yard run (Medley kick)
Tied 28–28
OT
GT
Marshall 1-yard run (Davis kick)
GT 35–28
OT
TENN
Kelly 1-yard run (Medley kick)
Tied 35–35
OT2
TENN
Kelly 2-yard run (Medley kick)
TENN 42–35
OT2
GT
Marshall 13-yard run (Conversion failed)
TENN 42–41
In a renewed rivalry with the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, the Tennessee Volunteers traveled to Atlanta to play in their second Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game. The Volunteers never had the lead in regulation play but scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to tie the game at 28 and force overtime. Each team traded touchdowns through two overtimes with Georgia Tech ultimately seeking to win the game on a two-point conversion. However, quarterback TaQuon Marshall could not complete the pass, and Tennessee secured the 42–41 victory.[11]
In his first start as a Volunteer, quarterback Quinten Dormady went 20-for-37 for 221 passing yards and a pair of touchdowns, both to wide receiver Marquez Callaway.[12] Running back John Kelly ran for 128 rushing yards and four touchdowns.[13] After averaging 47 yards on six punts, five of which pinned the Yellow Jackets inside their 20-yard line, punter Trevor Daniel was named Ray Guy Award Punter of the Week.[14]
Following the game, Tennessee head coach Butch Jones stated, "That was a very good college football game. I have a lot of respect for Georgia Tech. I am really proud of our players. We spoke all week long about a will to win, and that was the kind of game to find out our will to win. We knew that this was going to be a game that you had to show some resolve and some grit, and you had to play complementary football." He added, "The resolve and resiliency of our defense, even though we gave up [535] yards rushing, we still managed to force two takeaways, and offensively, we didn't turn the football over, which was paramount to winning the football game."[15]
Referee: Hubert Owens • Umpire: Walt Hill • Linesman: Steve Green • Line judge: Darren Crawford • Back judge: Martin Hankins • Field judge: Greg Thomas • Side judge: Chad Hill
TV announcers(SECN): David Neal (play-by-play), Matt Stinchcomb (color), Dawn Davenport (sidelines)
Ty Chandler 91-yard kickoff return (Aaron Medley kick)
TENN 7–0
1
2:49
TENN
Carlin Fils-Aime 4-yard run (Medley kick)
TENN 14–0
2
9:03
TENN
Fils-Aime 30-yard run (Medley kick)
TENN 21–0
2
0:53
TENN
Brandon Johnson 19-yard pass from Quinten Dormady (Medley kick)
TENN 28–0
3
10:07
INS
Jacquet McClendon 23-yard pass from Cade Sparks (Jerry Nunez kick)
TENN 28–7
3
2:12
TENN
Marquez Callaway 37-yard pass from Dormady (Medley kick)
TENN 35–7
4
0:56
TENN
Jeff George 11-yard pass from Jarrett Guarantano (Medley kick)
TENN 42–7
In their home opener, the #25 Tennessee Volunteers hosted the Indiana State Sycamores in the teams' first-ever meeting. From the opening kickoff, which Tennessee freshman running back Ty Chandler returned 91 yards for a touchdown, the Volunteers scored 28 unanswered points.[17] Indiana State's only touchdown came early in the third quarter. Tennessee scored twice more to win their home-opener, 42–7.[18] Following the game, Chandler was named SEC Freshman of the Week.[19]
Tennessee head coach Butch Jones called the outcome "a good win." He added, "With the short turnaround, I thought [our players] did a very good job all week long of trying to prepare their bodies and their minds, so I'm really proud of them. I thought one of the keys to the game was third-down defense and being able to get off the field."[20]
Referee: John McDaid • Umpire: Tom Quick • Linesman: Gary Jayrow • Line judge: Chad Lorance • Back judge: Grantis Bell • Field judge: P. Davenport • Side judge: Chris Conley
In a defensive battle throughout much of the game, the #23 Tennessee Volunteers faced their rivals, the #24 Florida Gators in Gainesville. Down by 10 points in the fourth quarter, Tennessee recovered to allow kicker Aaron Medley to tie the game at 20, after getting stalled in Florida territory with less than a minute to play.[22] As time expired, Florida quarterback Feleipe Franks threw a 63-yard pass to open wide receiver Tyrie Cleveland for a touchdown, sealing a 26–20 victory.[23]
Referee: Matt Loeffler • Umpire: Stan Weihe • Linesman: Gus Morris III • Line judge: Michael Shirey • Back judge: Kevin Mitchell • Field judge: Bobby Ables • Side judge: Jesse Dupuy
TV announcers(SECN): Taylor Zarzour (play-by-play), Andre Ware (color), Olivia Harlan (sidelines)
Ross Comis 5-yard run (Michael Schreiner kick failed)
UT 7–6
2
0:25
UT
Tyler Byrd 8-yard pass from Quentin Dormady (Medley kick)
UT 14–6
3
7:52
UT
Medley 40-yard field goal
UT 17–6
3
2:51
UMASS
Sadiq Palmer 13-yard pass from Andrew Ford (Logan Laurent kick)
UT 17–13
Tennessee and UMass played each other for their first meeting in the 2017 season.[25] Tennessee survived an upset attempt by the winless Minutemen in Neyland Stadium. After a scoreless first quarter, Tennessee was able to breakthrough on a John Kelly 12-yard rushing touchdown. UMass scored later in the quarter but missed the extra point to make the score 7–6. Tennessee scored late in the first half on a Tyler Byrd reception from Quinten Dormady to make the halftime score 14–6. Tennessee distanced themselves with a 40-yard field goal by Aaron Medley midway through the third quarter. UMass pulled within one score on a Sadiq Palmer reception from quarterback Andrew Ford late in the third quarter. Both teams were scoreless in the fourth giving Tennessee the victory.[26]
Referee: Hubert Owens • Umpire: Walt Hill • Linesman: Chad Green • Line judge: Chuck Rice • Back judge: Martin Hankins • Field judge: Greg Thomas • Side judge: Chad Hill
Tennessee suffered their worst lost at Neyland Stadium in school history against the Bulldogs. In a game Georgia dominated from start to finish, Tennessee only was able to put up 142 total yards, with 91 scrimmage yards coming from running back John Kelly.[27][28]
Referee: Steve Marlowe • Umpire: Rick Lowe • Linesman: Keith Johnson • Line judge: Kirk Lewis • Back judge: Michael Watson • Field judge: Allan Nicholson • Side judge: Mike Williams
Referee: Marc Curles • Umpire: Tom Quick • Linesman: Tim Sistrunk • Line judge: Michael Taylor • Back judge: Martin Hankins • Field judge: Wes Booker • Side judge: Chris Jamison
Irv Smith Jr 14 yard pass from Jalen Hurts (Andy Pappanastos kick)
28–0 BAMA
3
6:03
TENN
Daniel Bituli 97 yard interception return (Brent Cimaglia kick)
28–7 BAMA
3
3:13
BAMA
Andy Pappanastos 25 yard field goal
31–7 BAMA
4
12:59
BAMA
Tua Tagovailoa 23 yard run (Andy Pappanastos kick)
38–7 BAMA
4
4:49
BAMA
Henry Ruggs III 60 yard pass from Tua Tagovailoa (Andy Pappanastos kick)
45–7 BAMA
For the 11th straight time, the Crimson Tide defeated the Volunteers in their annual rivalry game.[32] Tennessee's lone score came on a 97-yard pick-six from Daniel Bituli off of Tua Tagovailoa in the third quarter.[33]
Referee: David Smith • Umpire: Wally Hough • Linesman: Jay Vines • Line judge: March Bovos • Back judge: Wayne Gautney • Field judge: Andy Britton • Side judge: Richard Rooker
Benjamin Snell Jr. 2 yard run (Austin Macginnis kick)
14–6 UK
2
8:37
TENN
Ty Chandler 1 yard run (Brent Cimaglia kick)
14–13 UK
2
5:58
UK
Benjamin Snell Jr. 1 yard run (Austin Macginnis kick)
21–13 UK
2
1:25
TENN
Ty Chandler 1 yard run (Brent Cimaglia kick)
21–20 UK
3
3:40
TENN
Brent Cimaglia 30 yard field goal
21–23 TENN
4
13:24
TENN
Brent Cimaglia 45 yard field goal
21–26 TENN
4
0:33
UK
Stephen Johnson 11 yard run (Benjamin Snell Jr. 2-point pass)
29–26 UK
For only the second time in the last 33 meetings, and despite having a turnover margin of 4–0, the Kentucky Wildcats defeated the Tennessee Volunteers by a score of 29–26.[35] The victory marked only Kentucky's third over the Volunteers since 1984.[36]
Referee: Matt Austin • Umpire: Rodney Lawary • Linesman: Tim Sistrunk • Line judge: Michael Taylor • Back judge: Jimmy Russell • Field judge: Blake Parks • Side judge: Bobby Moreau
The Volunteers snapped a four-game losing streak in the 24–10 victory over Southern Miss. Running back John Kelly recorded two touchdowns and quarterback Jarrett Guarantano had one rushing touchdown.[38]
Referee: Marc Curles • Umpire: Brent Sowell • Linesman: Keith Johnson • Line judge: Chris Conway • Back judge: Scott Vaughn • Field judge: Wes Booker • Side judge: Chris Jamison
Emanuel Hall 31 yard pass from Drew Lock (Tucker McCann kick)
14–7 MIZZ
1
1:17
TENN
Aaron Medley 48 yard field goal
14–10 MIZZ
2
7:25
MIZZ
Tucker McCann 41 yard field goal
17–10 MIZZ
2
1:15
TENN
Ethan Wolf 19 yard pass from Will McBride (Aaron Medley kick)
17–17
2
0:18
MIZZ
Larry Rountree III 1 yard run (Tucker McCann kick)
24–17 MIZZ
3
10:56
MIZZ
Emanuel Hall 50 yard pass from Drew Lock (Tucker McCann kick)
31–17 MIZZ
3
4:34
MIZZ
J'Mon Moore 23 yard pass from Drew Lock (Tucker McCann kick)
38–17 MIZZ
3
2:48
MIZZ
Tucker McCann 23 yard field goal
41–17 MIZZ
4
14:32
MIZZ
Tucker McCann 38 yard field goal
44–17 MIZZ
4
13:21
MIZZ
Johnathon Johnson 20 yard pass from Drew Lock (kick failed)
50–17 MIZZ
Tennessee was forced to start Will McBride at quarterback due to injury.[40] The Volunteers suffered a 50–17 loss to Missouri, which left Tennessee at a 4–6 record for the season and 0–6 in conference.[41] The Vols' loss to the Tigers was their worst loss to an unranked opponent in the AP Poll era.[42] Head coach Butch Jones was fired following the game.[43]
Referee: Matt Loeffler • Umpire: Stan Weihe • Linesman: Gus Morris • Line judge: Michael Shirey • Back judge: Tony Josselyn • Field judge: Mike Boshers • Side judge: Chad Hill
Under interim head coach Brady Hoke, Tennessee was able to go the half trailing with a 17–10 score. LSU pulled away with 13 points in the third quarter in a game that featured a rain storm.[45] Despite the result, Tennessee outgained LSU in total yards 293–281.[46]
Ethan Wolf 20 yard pass from Jarrett Guarantano (Aaron Medley kick)
42–24 VAN
In a game that saw Tennessee lose eight games and go winless in conference play for the first time in school history, Vanderbilt dominated in total yardage 529–238.[3] Tennessee stayed in the game through three quarters, only trailing 21–17. However, Vanderbilt scored three touchdowns in the fourth quarter to pull away.[48] The victory marked Vanderbilt's fourth in six games over the Volunteers, a mark that had not been seen in the rivalry since 1922–1929.[49]
Team players drafted into the NFL
Tennessee had three players selected in the 2018 NFL Draft.[50]
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