Week of September 22nd
Tennessee-Mississippi State Matchup, SEC Permanent Schedules Announced, and Titans Woes Continue
Tennessee’s First True Road Test
For Tennessee, today’s trip to Starkville is a chance to prove last year’s road woes are in the past. Josh Heupel’s teams have gone just 8-10 in true road games since he took over in 2021. Now, a significant amount of those losses are at Alabama, Georgia, and Florida. However, there have been head-scratching losses on the road the past several years with the South Carolina loss in 2022, the Missouri loss in 2023, and the infamous Arkansas debacle in 2024. You can’t drop games like that if you want to stay in the SEC hunt, especially against an improved Mississippi State team that is off to a 4-0 start.
The Vols enter Davis Wade Stadium at 3-1 after hammering UAB last weekend 56-24, bouncing back from the heartbreaking 44-41 overtime loss to Georgia. This is Tennessee’s second SEC win opportunity of the year, while Mississippi State is opening its conference slate after wins over Southern Miss, Arizona State, Alcorn State, and Northern Illinois.
This matchup also brings some familiarity: Jeff Lebby, now Mississippi State’s head coach, spent two years with Heupel at UCF running his offense. You’ll see plenty of tempo, spread looks, and big-play opportunities for both teams today.
Lebby’s group is averaging 39 points per game on 444 total yards, and the Bulldogs have been perfect in the red zone (16-for-16). Quarterback Blake Shapen is healthy after missing most of 2024 and is completing 67 percent of his throws for 884 yards, seven touchdowns, and just two picks. He’s also added 100 rushing yards and another score, which gives State a true dual-threat option at quarterback.
On the ground, transfer Fluff Bothwell (yes, his name is Fluff) has been a steady workhorse, averaging 5.8 yards per carry with four touchdowns. Davon Booth rotates in as well and gives them a second physical runner. Through the air, Anthony Evans III and Brenen Thompson have been Shapen’s top targets, combining for 37 catches, nearly 600 yards, and five scores.
The one question mark is the offensive line. Injuries have forced a new starting five every week, and they’ve already given up six sacks. Tennessee’s front will need to exploit that instability to get Shapen uncomfortable early.
The biggest difference in Starkville might be on the other side of the ball. After fielding one of the worst defenses in the league last season, Mississippi State has allowed just 11 points per game through four contests. They’ve forced seven turnovers and are holding opponents to 31 percent on third down.
STAR safety Isaac Smith is the heartbeat of the unit, leading the team in tackles. The Bulldogs have already matched half of last year’s sack total with five and have looked sharper in coverage with four interceptions spread across the secondary.
Now lets state the obvious. It’s not like Mississippi State has had the most difficult of schedules through the first several weeks of the season. Southern Miss, Alcorn State, and Northern Illinois aren’t going to be true barometers for an SEC football team, however, State did beat a Top-15 team in Arizona State at home. Time will tell how talented the Sun Devils are this year.
Of course, Tennessee’s offense will be their toughest test yet. The Vols have been rolling behind Joey Aguilar and a ground game that continues to churn out chunk plays. If Tennessee can keep the chains moving and avoid turnovers, there will be chances to hit explosives against a defense that hasn’t faced this level of speed.
Mississippi State is calling for a white out in the stands and honoring its 2000 “Snow Bowl” team, so expect a raucous Davis Wade Stadium. Tennessee will be in its all-orange look.
For Heupel’s group, this is the kind of game that separates good teams from contenders. Win, and you keep pace in the SEC hunt. Lose, and the margin for error vanishes before October even starts.
SEC Announces Schedule Changes
The SEC is restructuring. Beginning in 2026, each conference team will play nine SEC games instead of eight. To keep tradition in place, every team will also have three permanent annual opponents, with the other six SEC matchups rotating.
For Tennessee, the three fixed rivals are Alabama, Kentucky and Vanderbilt. Next season, UT will host Alabama, Kentucky, LSU, Auburn, and Texas, and travel to Arkansas, South Carolina, Texas A&M, and Vanderbilt. In future years, the rotating slate will bring matchups like Florida, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Georgia, Missouri, and others in various home/away configurations.
One striking change: the 2026 season will be the first since 1992 without Georgia and Florida on Tennessee’s schedule. Also, UT has never played Texas in the regular season. Under this new model, they will, adding a fresh and intriguing matchup for fans.
Why the shift? Basically, it comes down to money. An extra SEC game brings in more TV money. The three permanent opponents is a move to keep old rivalries alive and not completely kill these historic matchups. Under the new format, every SEC team will face each opponent at least once every two years and play home and away over a four-year period. The fixed rivalries themselves will be reviewed every four years to maintain competitive fairness.
This change matters for Tennessee in several ways. The matchups with Alabama, Vanderbilt, and Kentucky give the Vols a more favorable set of permanent opponents, while also allowing the Vols to play teams in the conference they may have rarely seen otherwise. With Tennessee having two weaker permanent opponents in Kentucky and Vanderbilt, the SEC office made sure tougher rotational opponents appeared on the Vols schedule. LSU, Texas, A&M, and Auburn all increase Tennessee’s SOS.
A tougher, more varied schedule raises the stakes every fall, but it also gives Tennessee more opportunities to prove it belongs in the playoff conversation. There’s no hiding from anyone in this league, and that’s how most competitors want it.
With the shift to the nine game SEC schedule, you can take it to the bank that Greg Sankey is already in the ear of the Playoff Committee selling 9-3 SEC teams as worthy opponents for the College Football playoff moving forward.
Winless Titans Look for Answers
The Tennessee Titans have opened the 2025 season at 0-3, and the early signs point to a team already scrambling for answers. What once was hope with a rookie quarterback and revamped offensive line is slipping fast.
Friday’s practice report did little to calm the waters. Oli Udoh will make his first career start at right tackle after JC Latham was ruled out. John Ojukwu may also be inactive. Meanwhile, the Titans elevated Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson to the 53-man roster as depth at tackle. At receiver, Bryce Oliver (knee) remains sidelined. On defense and special teams, injuries and questions linger across multiple positions.
One real pivot came this week: Brian Callahan ceded play-calling duties to quarterbacks coach Bo Hardegree. Callahan insisted it’s not a surrender but a reallocation of energy. He still plans to interject when needed, but Sunday’s scripts will be drawn up by Hardegree. You can bet that this was not Callahan’s decision. This was a message from the top of the organization. It’s obvious that the Titans front office & ownership are not happy with the status quo through three games.
And they have reason to be unhappy. The Titans are allowing the most sacks in the NFL, putting Cam Ward under duress constantly. In their 41-20 loss to Indianapolis, the defense gave up 41 points and 365 yards, and the Colts never punted. That kind of dominance from an opponent amplifies the roster gaps Tennessee is trying to mask.
So are there any positives? Cam Ward remains steady in interviews and seems to trust Hardegree’s vision. Young players like Elic Ayomanor and Chim Dike have shown bursts of production. Callahan even admitted “everything’s on the table” right now meaning rotations and roles. Nothing is safe from evaluation.
Tomorrow, the Titans will face off with the also winless Texans. If there is any game on the schedule that Amy Adams Strunk wants to win, it is against Houston. She does not want to be embarrassed in front of her hometown.
If the Titans go out and perform the way they did against the Colts, I wouldn’t be surprised if coaching changes were made by ownership. Some may think changes this early in the season are too harsh, but for those who have been paying attention to Brian Callahan, a firing would be anything but ruthless. The Titans obviously lack talent across the roster, but Callahan’s lack luster coaching (and 3-17 record) does not warrant optimism for the future.