NEED TO KNOW
Ranking Among the Nation's Best
Tennessee heads to Nashville ranked in the FBS top 10 in nine major categories: kickoff return defense (3rd – 13.0), scoring defense (4th – 13.1), third-down defense (5th – 28.8), yards per play allowed (5th – 4.33), total defense (6th – 284.3), tackles for loss (6th - 8.0), rushing defense (6th – 98.8), red zone defense (7th - 71.9) and rushing offense (9th – 227.5). The Vols lead the SEC in third-down defense, kickoff return defense and rushing offense. UT and Army are the only teams in the nation with a top 10 rushing offense and rushing defense.
The Big Orange are the only SEC team to hold 10 of their 11 opponents under 20 points this season and have issued the fifth-fewest offensive touchdowns in the FBS this year (16). Opponents have managed only one first-quarter touchdown this season against Tennessee (Kentucky).
D-Samp, the SEC's MVP
Junior running back Dylan Sampson is having one of the most prolific seasons in SEC history and is among the top candidates to be named the SEC Player of the Year. Sampson has already set three single-season program records and is closing in on Tennessee's career rushing touchdowns record, as well.
The Baton Rouge, Louisiana, native enters this weekend's contest with a UT record 22 rushing touchdowns, a mark that leads the Power Four and ranks third nationally as well as tied for fifth in SEC history with LSU's Leonard Fournette (2015). Sampson has found pay dirt at least once in all 11 games this season and scored multiple touchdowns seven different times this year. He is tied for second in program history for career rushing scores with 35 and needs just two more to tie Gene McEver's record of 37 from 1928-31.
Sampson also enters the regular-season finale as the conference's leading rusher with 1,307 yards, a mark that ranks sixth in UT single-season annals. He needs just 158 yards to surpass Travis Stephens record of 1,464 yards in 2001 and become the Vols' single-season rushing king.
Shutdown Defense
Led by defensive coordinator and Broyles Award nominee Tim Banks, the Vols have boasted one of the nation's top defensive units all year long, ranking on the FBS leaders in scoring defense (4th – 13.1), third-down defense (5th – 28.8), yards per play allowed (5th – 4.33), total defense (6th – 284.3), tackles for loss (6th - 8.0), rushing defense (6th – 98.8) and red zone defense (7th - 71.9).
Tennessee has held opponents to under 20 points in 11 out of its last 12 games dating back to last season's 35-0 Citrus Bowl shutout of Iowa. During this stretch, the Vols have pitched three shutouts, including two this season (71-0 vs. Kent State on Sept. 14 and 56-0 vs. UTEP on Nov. 23). It's the first time UT has recorded multiple shutouts in a season since the final two regular season games of 2002 against Vanderbilt and Kentucky. Tennessee is the only SEC team to hold 10 of its 11 opponents under 20 points this season.
Vols in the CFP Rankings
Tennessee enters this final weekend of the regular season in good position to secure a spot in the new 12-team College Football Playoff. The Vols are ranked No. 8 in the latest CFP rankings that were released on Tuesday night and would all but guarantee themselves a spot in the field with a win on Saturday afternoon.
