NEED TO KNOW
Checker Neyland Presented by Pilot
Saturday's night game will feature the iconic checkerboard pattern throughout the stands as
Checker Neyland presented by Pilot, Tennessee's popular fan-driven initiative, returns for the eighth time in program history.
Fans are encouraged to wear orange or white, depending on their seat location. To find out if your seat section is orange or white, go to
CheckerNeyland.com and enter your section/row/seat number as it appears on your digital ticket. Fans in the Yee-Haw Ole Smoky Social Deck are encouraged to wear white.
The Vols have won their last two #CheckerNeyland games, topping Florida, 38-33, in 2022 and defeating Texas A&M, 20-13, last season.
The Neyland Effect
Neyland Stadium is once again one of the nation's most electric environments and toughest places to play for visiting teams. Over the past two seasons, the Vols are 15-1 inside of its confines, outscoring opponents 780-280. In the Josh Heupel era (since 2021), UT is 20-4 at home and has outscored its opponents 2,001-444 with 17 of those wins coming by double digits. Tennessee's 15 home wins since the start of the 2022 season are tied for seventh in the nation and the Big Orange have won seven straight night games in Neyland Stadium.
Neyland Stadium will be sold out for 16th consecutive game on Saturday. UT has ranked in the top five nationally in attendance in each of the last two seasons, ranking No. 3 in total attendance (713,405) and No. 4 in average attendance (101,915) while leading the SEC in attendance in 2023.
Bouncing Back
Josh Heupel has lost back-to-back games just three times as a head coach in his seven seasons. He owns a 14-3 record following a loss in the same season, including a 9-2 mark at Tennessee and 5-1 record at UCF. The only two times it occurred at UT was in his first year of 2021 as the Vols dropped back-to-back games to No. 13 Ole Miss and No. 4 Alabama and then last year with back-to-back losses at No. 16 Mizzou and versus No. 1 Georgia.
Sampson Continues to Produce
Dylan Sampson has been the catalyst for Tennessee's offensive success this season, ranking among the nation's best running backs through six weeks. The junior leads all power conference players and ranks second nationally in rushing touchdowns with 12. Sampson also leads the SEC and is 10th in the FBS in rushing yards per game (117.8) and ranks third in the conference in yards per carry (6.47). His four 100-plus yard rushing games are tops in the SEC while his 72 total points accounted for rank second nationally.
Sampson is the third Vols' running back in the last three seasons to score double-digit rushing touchdowns in a single campaign – joining Jabari Small and Jaylen Wright who had 13 and 10 in 2022, respectively.
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