Head coach Josh Heupel returns to the sideline during a game against Kentucky at Neyland Stadium. Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024. Cole Moore/RTI
Next week, Tennessee football takes the podium at SEC Media Days to preview fall camp and the upcoming 2026 season. That marks the official countdown to football season, as the Vols embark on year six under Josh Heupel.
To preview the year, I ran five simulations in the recently released College Football 27 video game from EA Sports to see how UT would fare. Before you ask, Faizon Brandon is not in the game yet, and George MacIntyre is the top-rated quarterback on the roster, so he manned quarterback in each game.
Here are the results:
Simulation 1
Schedule
vs. FCS Southeast (Furman): 58-13 W
at Georgia Tech: 38-36 W
vs. Kennesaw State: 58-7 W
vs. Texas: 52-31 W
vs. Auburn: 52-28 W
at Arkansas: 52-24 W
vs. Alabama: 31-20 W
at No. 5 South Carolina: 31-14 L
vs. Kentucky: 38-17 W
at Texas A&M: 47-28 W
vs. No. 17 LSU: 45-28 W
at Vanderbilt: 38-31 L
CFP FIRST ROUND
vs. No. 11 Oregon: 42-20 W
CFP QUARTERFINALS (Peach Bowl)
Stat Leaders
QB George MacIntyre
69% completion, 4,317 yards, 43 TD, 9 INT
RB DeSean Bishop
271 carries, 1,735 yards, 18 TD
WR Braylon Staley
118 receptions, 1,266 yards, 7 TD
WR Radarious Jackson
79 receptions, 1,225 yards, 14 TD
LB Edwin Spillman
104 tackles, 2 TFL, 1.0 sack, 3 INT
DE Tyree Weathersby
44 tackles, 13 TFL, 9.5 sacks
CB Kayin Lee
Simulation 2
Schedule
vs. FCS Southeast (Furman): 56-21 W
at Georgia Tech: 27-7 W
vs. Kennesaw State: 37-13 W
vs. Texas: 52-21 L
vs. Auburn: 42-14 W
at Arkansas: 52-50 L
vs. Alabama: 33-16 W
at No. 8 South Carolina: 43-24 L
vs. Kentucky: 29-12 W
at No. 18 Texas A&M: 35-29 W
vs. No. 10 LSU: 38-20 L
at Vanderbilt: 40-10 W
LAS VEGAS BOWL
Stat Leaders
QB George MacIntyre
66% completion, 3,738 yards, 30 TD, 7 INT
RB DeSean Bishop
175 carries, 1,145 yards, 9 TD
WR Braylon Staley
125 receptions, 1,1336 yards, 3 TD
WR Radarious Jackson
74 receptions, 1,017 yards, 12 TD
LB Amare Campbell
111 tackles, 1 TFL, 0.5 sacks
DE Mariyon Dye
48 tackles, 19 TFL, 11.5 sacks
S Edrees Farooq
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Simulation 3
Schedule
vs. FCS Southeast (Furman): 49-21 W
at Georgia Tech: 22-16 W
vs. Kennesaw State: 42-3 W
vs. Texas: 49-35 L
vs. Auburn: 51-45 W
at Arkansas: 34-27 L
vs. Alabama: 42-38 W
at No. 2 South Carolina: 34-3 W
vs. Kentucky: 38-19 L
at Texas A&M: 28-21 W
vs. LSU: 33-28 W
at Vanderbilt: 37-3 W
LAS VEGAS BOWL
vs. San Diego State: 39-37 L
Stat Leaders
QB George MacIntyre
58% completion, 3,769 yards, 27 TD, 5 INT
RB DeSean Bishop
212 carries, 1,607 yards, 18 TD
WR Radarious Jackson
71 receptions, 1,139 yards, 10 TD
LB Amare Campbell
91 tackles, 5 TFL, 1.0 sack
DE Tyree Weathersby
34 tackles, 16 TFL, 12.0 sacks
S Dejuan Lane
Simulation 4
Schedule
vs. FCS Southeast (Furman): 49-12 W
at Georgia Tech: 24-22 W
vs. Kennesaw State: 56-14 W
vs. Texas: 42-21 W
vs. Auburn: 31-23 W
at Arkansas: 45-17 W
vs. Alabama: 41-38 W
at No. 7 South Carolina: 30-22 W
vs. Kentucky: 40-34 L
at No. 24 Texas A&M: 41-38 L
vs. LSU: 31-23 W
at Vanderbilt: 29-17 W
CFP FIRST ROUND
at No. 7 South Carolina: 31-24 W
CFP QUARTERFINALS (Fiesta Bowl)
vs. No. 3 Kansas State: 28-27 L
Stat Leaders
QB George MacIntyre
63% completion, 4,422 yards, 41 TD, 12 INT
RB DeSean Bishop
269 carries, 1,910 yards, 14 TD
WR Braylon Staley
110 receptions, 1,364 yards, 7 TD
WR Radarious Jackson
84 receptions, 1,252 yards, 15 TD
CB Ty Redmond
95 tackles, 2 TFL, 0.5 sacks, 1 INT
DE Tyree Weathersby
37 tackles, 15 TFL, 8.5 sacks
CB Kayin Lee
Simulation 5
Schedule
FCS Southeast (Furman): 45-7 W
at Georgia Tech: 48-14 W
vs. Kennesaw State: 65-10 W
vs. Texas: 44-42 L
vs. Auburn: 50-14 L
at Arkansas: 30-23 W
vs. No. 16 Alabama: 49-21 W
at South Carolina: 41-38 L
vs. Kentucky: 37-3 W
at Texas A&M: 38-15 L
vs. No. 20 LSU: 33-21 W
at Vanderbilt: 34-20 W
TEXAS BOWL
Stat Leaders
QB George MacIntyre
58% completion, 3,795 yards, 28 TD, 6 INT
RB DeSean Bishop
246 carries, 1,362 yards, 8 TD
WR Braylon Staley
100 receptions, 1,188 yards, 6 TD
WR Radarious Jackson
73 receptions, 959 yards, 10 TD
S TJ Metcalf
DE Tyree Weathersby
56 tackles, 25 TFL, 14.0 sacks
S Dejuan Lane
Results
vs. FCS Southeast (Furman): 5-0
at Georgia Tech: 5-0
vs. Kennesaw State: 5-0
vs. Texas: 2-3
vs. Auburn: 4-1
at Arkansas: 3-2
vs. Alabama: 5-0
at South Carolina: 3-3 (including CFP win)
vs. Kentucky: 3-2
at Texas A&M: 3-2
vs. LSU: 4-1
at Vanderbilt: 4-1
CFP appearance in 2-out-of-5 sims
Las Vegas Bowl in 2-out-5 sims
Texas Bowl in 1-out-of-5 sims