Tipoff times have now been set for all Tennessee men’s basketball games this season.
The defending SEC Champion Volunteers recently learned that their Dec. 9 neutral-site showdown against Gonzaga as part of the inaugural Jerry Colangelo Classic in Phoenix will tipoff at 3 p.m. ET on ESPN.
Tennessee’s Dec. 2 home game against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi is set to start at noon ET on the SEC Network.
Four UT home game will be streamed on SEC Network+, available through the ESPN app and also viewable via espn.com/watch. Those contests are the Oct. 31 exhibition vs. Tusculum (7 p.m. ET), the Nov. 9 meeting with Louisiana (7 p.m. ET), the Dec. 19 game against Samford (7 p.m. ET) and the Dec. 29 tilt with Tennessee Tech (1 p.m. ET).
In their fourth year under the direction of Rick Barnes—the 2018 SEC Coach of the Year—the Vols are listed as a preseason top-10 pick by most major media outlets. Tennessee returns all five starters from last season’s 26-9 NCAA Tournament team, including each of its top-six scorers.
Season tickets and the popular “Vol Pass” ticket option are on sale now, and single-game tickets will be available starting Oct. 9. Fans interested in purchasing tickets are encouraged to visit AllVols.com or call 1-800-332-8657.
Alabama frontman Randy Owen assembled some of his talented friends on Sept. 26 to help raise more than $1 million for his alma mater, Jacksonville State University.
Alabama, Charlie Daniels, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, Shenandoah, Jamey Johnson, Riley Green, Drake White, Home Free, John Berry, Gordon Mote, Darren Knight, Sixwire and Sweet Tea Trio performed as part of the Alabama & Friends #JSUStrong Tornado Relief Concert benefiting Jacksonville State University in Jacksonville, Alabama.
“Teddy [Gentry], Jeff [Cook] and I are so proud of the artists who played this benefit for tornado damage at Jacksonville State University,” says Randy, mentioning his Alabama bandmates. “With over $70 million dollars in damages, we’re glad that we, along with our artist friends, were able to help raise over a million dollars Wednesday night. I graduated from JSU, so it’s very personal for me.”
On March 19, Jacksonville was hit by a tornado that severely impacted 23 buildings and caused millions of dollars in damage. Fortunately, there was no loss of life.
The Tornado Relief Concert raised $1.2 million for JSU through ticket sales, sponsorships and in-kind donations.
2018 AmericanaFest took over Nashville during the week of Sept. 11–16, with the Honors & Awards ceremony on Sept. 12 at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium serving as the week’s centerpiece.
Nashville’s 19th annual celebration of Americana music was another resounding success, with many of the figures exceeding totals from previous years.
2018 AmericanaFest By the Numbers
AmericanaFest: 19th year
Honors & Awards Ceremony: 17th year
Days Long: 6
Estimated Attendance: 50,000
Performing Acts: 250+
Conference Panels: 60
Special Events: 100
Performances: 500+
Venues: 62
States Represented: 42
Countries Represented: 16
The 20th annual AmericanaFest will take place Sept. 10–15, 2019, in Nashville.
photo courtesy Getty Images for the Americana Music Association
For the second year in a row, Kelleigh Bannen, Ruthie Collins and Natalie Stovall visited and serenaded patients at Nashville’s Children’s Hospital at TriStar Centennial on Sept. 26.
The performance was in partnership with Kretschmar Deli, which partnered with the hospital and featured its brand ambassadors Kelleigh, Ruthie and Natalie. The day’s events included the trio visiting patients, families and staff for an intimate concert, a meet-and-greet lunch and bedside serenades.
ATHENS, Ga. – Tennessee will face its first true road test of the season when it heads to Athens to take on No. 2/3 Georgia between the hedges on Saturday afternoon at Sanford Stadium.
Kickoff for Saturday’s contest is slated for 3:30 p.m. ET on CBS with Brad Nessler (play-by-play) and Gary Danielson (analyst) calling the action in the booth while Jamie Erdahl will be reporting from the sidelines. Vol Network radio affiliates will have a live audio broadcast with Bob Kesling, Tim Priest and Brent Hubbs. Sirius (Channel 125) and XM satellite radio (Channel 381) will also carry the game.
The Big Orange are coming off a loss to Florida in their SEC home opener. UT will be looking to earn its second straight win over Georgia at Sanford Stadium after prevailing 34-31 in 2016 thanks to a 43-yard Hail Mary touchdown from Joshua Dobbs to Jauan Jennings on the last play of the game.
Need to Know
Series History vs. Georgia
Saturday will be the 48th meeting between the Volunteers and Bulldogs and the 24th time the two programs have faced off in Athens. Tennessee holds the slightest of leads in the series with an all-time record of 23-22-2.
After 2016’s thrilling comeback win, the Orange and White are 11-11-1 all-time in games played in Athens. Six of the last seven meetings in the series have been decided by eight points or fewer.
Coaching Connections
There are a bunch of connections between the coaching staffs of these two programs. UT head coach Jeremy Pruitt served as the defensive coordinator for the Bulldogs in 2014 and 2015 while Vols’ assistants Kevin Sherrer (2014-17), Will Friend (2003-04, 2011-14), Tracy Rocker (2014-16) and Brian Niedermeyer (2015) have all spent stints on Georgia’s staff over the years. UGA offensive coordinator Jim Chaney (2009-12) and offensive line coach Sam Pittman (2012) have both coached at Tennessee in the past as well.
Running Back Group Continues to Produce
The Vols have implemented a running back by committee approach through the first four games of the season and have received significant contributions from four players in the backfield. Tennessee’s running backs have accounted for nine of the team’s 15 total touchdowns this season.
Sophomore Ty Chandler is averaging 73.3 yards rushing per game and ranks third in the SEC in yards per carry (6.3). Fellow sophomore Tim Jordan is averaging 59.3 yards per game and ran for a career-high 118 yards and a touchdown in the season opener vs. No. 17 West Virginia. Graduate transfer Madre London and true freshman Jeremy Banks are tied for the team lead with three rushing touchdowns apiece this season.
Big-Play Ability
The Orange and White have already posted six plays of 50 or more yards on offense this season. The Vols had just four 50-plus yard plays all of last season.
Redshirt sophomore quarterback Jarrett Guarantano has completed four passes of 50 yards or more, two of them going to fellow sophomore Josh Palmer, who already has 65 more receiving yards then he did all of last season. Palmer is averaging 23.3 yards per reception this year, which ranks fourth in the SEC.
Defensive Highlights
UT ranks first in the SEC in first downs allowed, giving up just 14 per game so far this season. The Vols also rank third in the conference in third-down defense, allowing opponent to convert just 24.5 percent of the time (12-of-49).
Vols from the Peach State
There are 15 scholarship players and 16 players total on Tennessee’s roster that hail from the state of Georgia.
About Georgia
Georgia enter Saturday’s game coming off a 43-29 road win at Missouri last week. The Bulldogs’ 4-0 start has them ranked No. 2 in the AP Poll and No. 3 in the Amway Coaches’ Poll after winning the SEC and reaching the College Football Playoff National Championship Game last season.
UGA is led by sophomore quarterback Jake Fromm and a dynamic receiving corp. Fromm has thrown for over 700 yards and nine touchdowns this season while completing 73 percent of his passes. His go-to target is Mecole Hardman, who has hauled in four touchdowns. At running back, Georgia is paced by the one-two punch of D’Andre Swift and Elijah Holyfield, combining for four touchdowns and almost 500 yards on the ground. Georgia has also found plenty of success on defense and special teams, accounting for four touchdowns while holding opponents to less than 300 yards per game.
The Pistol Annies—Miranda Lambert, Ashley Monroe and Angaleena Presley—will release their third studio album, Interstate Gospel, on Nov. 2
The 14-track offering follows the trio’s two previous albums, 2011’s Hell on Heels and 2013’s Annie Up. All of the songs where co-penned by the Annies, with the exception of “This Too Shall Pass,” which was penned by Ashley and Angaleena.
Interstate Gospel is available for pre-order now, with three downloadable instant-grat tracks: “Interstate Gospel,” “Best Years of My Life” and “Got My Name Changed Back,” which you can listen to below.
To celebrate this new project, the Pistol Annies have planned three intimate concert events in Nashville, New York and Los Angeles. Tickets go on sale on Oct. 5.
Tennessee head football coach Jeremy Pruitt held his Wednesday press conference ahead of the Georgia game in Athens on Saturday. Today’s video is courtesy of the University of Tennessee Athletics Department.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee football head coach Jeremy Pruitt said he has seen an increase in confidence and maturity in the Vols this week following Wednesday’s practice held indoors at the Anderson Training Center due to weather conditions.
“Lots of competition out there today,” Pruitt said. “I saw guys competing all the way to the end of practice… you could see a little more sense of urgency. I think a little bit of that is maturity. I think some of it is confidence, so that’s a good thing. We’ve got to continue to work the next two days to get ready for a really good football team in Georgia.”
Tennessee quickly put last week’s loss to Florida in the rearview with players coming in voluntarily to watch film on Sunday and prepare for the second-ranked Bulldogs.
Georgia will be the first road opponent for the Vols this season as the two teams square off on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. on CBS. Tennessee is 23-22-2 all-time against Georgia and 11-11-1 all-time in Athens, Ga. UT’s last trip to Sanford Stadium ended with wide receiver Jauan Jenningscatching a 43-yard Hail Mary from Josh Dobbs to win the game as time expired.
“When you go on the road in the SEC, you find out a lot about yourself,” Pruitt said. “To me, one of the best things about being a player or coach in this league, is you find out really who you are when you go on the road. Everybody is against you. It’s a tough environment. You have to overcome a whole lot, but you find guys who have maturity, who can focus and do the little things that it takes to have success.”
Pruitt and his staff are very familiar with the Bulldogs. Pruitt was the defensive coordinator at Georgia in 2014 and 2015, and recruited and coached many of the Bulldogs’ top players. Several other members of the Tennessee staff have coached at Georgia, and vice versa. Pruitt and Georgia head coach Kirby Smart also worked on Nick Saban’s Alabama staff together for six years.
Additionally, 15 scholarship players on the Tennessee roster call Georgia home, including projected starters: wide receiver Marquez Callaway, safety Micah Abernathy, defensive tackle Alexis Johnson, safety Nigel Warrior and cornerback Baylen Buchanan.
“I would think that Georgia is a hard place to play,” Pruitt said. “To start with, like all the schools in the SEC, they have a lot of passion for their team. They have a very good football team that’s very well coached. In my time there, the players, the relationships that I got to build and be a part of, (I) had a lot of fun memories there.”
Vols’ D Finding Success on Third Down
Tennessee is allowing opponents to convert just 24.5 percent (12-of-49) of third down attempts through four games – the nation’s sixth-best mark and the third-best rate in the SEC. The Vols have been especially stout on third down since the season opener against West Virginia, too. UT has held opponents to a 17.5 percent conversion rate (7-of-40) on third down over the last three games.
Georgia has emerged as one of the SEC’s top offenses this season behind sophomore quarterback Jake Fromm and a stable of playmakers, including wide receiver Mecole Hardman (five touchdowns) and running back D’Andre Swift (190 yards, two touchdowns).
The Vols’ defense will need to continue to make stops on third down to have success against a Bulldogs’ team converting third downs at a 43 percent clip, while scoring 44.5 points and totaling 477.5 yards of total offense per game.
Tennessee Coaches Wearing AFCA’s Coach to Cure MD Patch Jeremy Pruitt and the Tennessee coaching staff will be wearing special arm patches in honor of the AFCA’s Coach to Cure MD program this Saturday against Georgia. This is the 11th year coaches around the country join together to raise funding and awareness of Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Fans are encouraged to donate by texting “CURE” to 5055 or visiting www.CoachtoCureMD.org.
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