Postgame Notes: #15 Tennessee 69, Chattanooga 3

TENNESSEE FOOTBALL POSTGAME NOTES

Aug. 31, 2024 | Knoxville, Tenn. | Neyland Stadium

FINAL SCORE: No. 15 Tennessee 69, Chattanooga 3

General Notes

• Saturday’s attendance at Neyland Stadium: 101,915 (sold out)

  • The contest marked Tennessee’s 14th consecutive sellout in Neyland Stadium.

• Tennessee’s all-time on-field record improved to 877-414-53 with Saturday’s win (NCAA record: 866-414-53).
• The Vols improved to 96-26-6 on the field (95-26-6 NCAA record) in season openers all-time. Josh Heupel is 7-0 in season openers as a head coach, outscoring opponents 382-70 — including 215-32 at Tennessee.
• Saturday marked Heupel’s 40th game as head coach at Tennessee, improving his record with the Big Orange to 28-12. His 28 victories are the fourth-most by a UT head coach through his first 40 games, trailing only General Robert Neyland (36-1-3), Bill Battle (35-5) and Phillip Fulmer (33-7).
• Tennessee earned its 40th win on the field over the Mocs, improving its record to 40-2-2 in the series.
• The Vols improved to 7-0 against in-state foes under Heupel. All seven of those wins have come by 27 points or more.
• Tennessee owns a 19-4 record in Neyland Stadium under Heupel and has won 14 of its last 15 games in the venue.
• Tennessee secured its 11th straight victory over a non-conference opponent, representing its longest streak against non-conference foes since winning 12 straight from 2015-17.
• Since 2021, the Vols are 14-2 in non-conference play under Heupel. Tennessee has outscored non-SEC foes 772-236 during that stretch.
• Tennessee, donning its new The Volunteer State jerseys, improved to 6-1 in Nike Smokey Grey uniforms.
• The Volunteers recorded their highest point total (69) and scoring margin (plus-66) of the Heupel era.

First-Time Starters

Vol Captains/Coin Toss

• Tennessee’s team captains for Saturday’s game: WR Bru McCoy, LB Keenan Pili, LS Matthew Salansky and DL Omari Thomas.
• Chattanooga won the toss and elected to defer to the second half. Tennessee received the opening kickoff and Chattanooga defended the south end zone.

Tennessee Debuts

• Thirty-five players made their debuts for Tennessee during Saturday’s season opener, including 20 true freshmen. Players marked with an asterisk below made their collegiate debut.
  

Team Offensive Notes

• The Volunteers opened the season with an 11-play, 65-yard scoring drive in 3:43, capped with a 1-yard touchdown rush by RB Dylan Sampson in…