Tennessee came out of the woodwork swinging this season. 

After missing eligibility for the College Football Playoffs last year, the Volunteers breezed through pre-conference play, racking up no less than 50 points per game against each opponent. Entering conference play was a little more rocky, with Tennessee taking losses against Arkansas, 19-14, and Georgia, 31-17, the last of which eliminated the Vols from the SEC Championship.

Now, No. 7 Tennessee faces No. 6 Ohio State, who sat at No. 2 for the majority of the season before suffering a loss to rival Michigan and plummeting out of the top 5. The game takes place Dec. 21 on the Buckeyes’ home turf, and the losing team will be facing the end of its season.

Tennessee is an offensively powered team that is largely backed by junior running back Dylan Sampson. Sampson has run for 1,485 yards and 22 touchdowns in his 256 carries and averages a little over five yards per carry. A valuable asset to the Vols’ offense, Sampson is the perfect on-the-ground playmaker to give redshirt freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava some relief.

As a backup during his inaugural 2023 season, Iamaleava arrived at Knoxville as the No. 1 prep player in the country according to On3. The true freshman sat on the sidelines until the 2024 Citrus Bowl, making his first career start and leading the Vols to victory—a feat which named him “Most Valuable Player” and the first true freshman quarterback to win a bowl game at Tennessee since Peyton Manning in 1994.

Iamaleava has thrown for 2,512 yards so far this season, with 19 touchdowns and only five interceptions along the way. His quarterback rating sits at 70.5, ranked 35th nationally. An underrated aspect of his game is as a dual threat, Iamaleava has also run for 311 yards and a touchdown this season.

Tennessee has struggled to build a strong room of star wide receivers, yet has found a significant playmaker in senior wide receiver Dont’e Thornton Jr, who transferred January 2023 from Oregon. With 25 receptions for 647 yards and six touchdowns, Thornton averages nearly 26 yards per reception. While he has had several conference games with over 100 yards, Thornton was noticeably absent from the losing game against Georgia and had zero yards, although he had been cleared for play after an upper-body injury acquired a week before against Mississippi State.

Thornton wasn’t the only contributor to the loss against Georgia. Many errors came from an absence of pressure on quarterback Carson Beck by the defensive line, as well as a lackluster secondary that failed to block Beck’s passes.

Although Tennessee hosts many talented players on its defensive line, including sophomore linebacker Arion Carter with 65 total tackles, the effectiveness of the defense as a whole has been lagging in conference play. Wins during pre-conference were total blowouts, with a 71-0 highlight against Kent State. Once conference play began, no less than two touchdowns per game were allowed by the defense—with the exception being University of Texas at El Paso with a flat score of zero.

When it comes to the College Football Playoff, the first question is whether Ohio State’s senior quarterback Will Howard will utilize the pass game to the best of his advantage. The Buckeyes have showcased a varied pass game this season, while the Tennessee secondary has proven weak against top teams, notably Georgia. If the Vols make it past their first playoff round, they’ll be facing more pass-heavy contenders—such as No. 1 Oregon.

The second question is how effective Tennessee’s offense will be as a whole against the top notch defenses found in the College Football Playoff bracket. Although Iamaleava has dual threat ability in his arsenal, the Vols rely heavily on the run game—which Ohio State in particular is notable for stopping, ranking seventh nationally in rushing yards allowed per game.