2020 Tennessee Volunteers football team

The 2020 Tennessee Volunteers football team represented the University of Tennessee in the 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Volunteers played their home games at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee, and competed in the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The Volunteers were led by third-year head coach Jeremy Pruitt.

2020 Tennessee Volunteers football
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Division	Eastern Division
Record	0–7, 3 wins vacated (0–7 SEC, 3 wins vacated)
Head coach	Jeremy Pruitt (3rd season)
Offensive coordinator	Jim Chaney (6th season)
Offensive scheme	Pro-style
Defensive coordinator	Derrick Ansley (2nd season)
Base defense	3-4
Home stadium	Neyland Stadium
Seasons ← 2019 2021 →

2020 Southeastern Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
Eastern Division
No. 13 Florida x		8	–	2					8	–	4
No. 7 Georgia		7	–	2					8	–	2
Missouri		5	–	5					5	–	5
Kentucky		4	–	6					5	–	6
Tennessee*		3	–	7					3	–	7
South Carolina		2	–	8					2	–	8
Vanderbilt		0	–	9					0	–	9
Western Division
No. 1 Alabama x$#^		10	–	0					13	–	0
No. 4 Texas A&M		8	–	1					9	–	1
Auburn		6	–	4					6	–	5
LSU*		5	–	5					5	–	5
Ole Miss		4	–	5					5	–	5
Arkansas		3	–	7					3	–	7
Mississippi State		3	–	7					4	–	7
Championship: Alabama 52, Florida 46
# – College Football Playoff champion ^ – College Football Playoff participant $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions * – Tennessee vacated all wins due to NCAA violations. LSU was ineligible for postseason due to self imposed ban. Note: Due to COVID-19, the SEC played a conference-only schedule. Rankings from AP Poll.

In a season initially questioned whether it would be played because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Southeastern Conference ultimately decided to go through with the season, the Volunteers compiled a 3–7 record, all in conference games. While the team did not have a winning record, the NCAA had waived bowl eligibility requirement for the season,^[1] and the Volunteers accepted a bid to the Liberty Bowl. However, the team had to withdraw on December 21 after several players and coaches, including Pruitt, tested positive for COVID-19.^[2]

Pruitt was fired for cause in January 2021 following an NCAA investigation into recruiting violations. He left Knoxville with a 16–19 overall record. However, in July 2023, all Tennessee wins for the 2019 and 2020 seasons were vacated due to the recruiting violations.^[3] Thus, the 2020 Volunteers are credited with an official record of 0–7.

Preseason

SEC Media Days

In the preseason media poll, Tennessee was predicted to finish in third place in the East Division.^[4]

Media poll (East Division)
Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
1	Florida	624 (53)
2	Georgia	613 (43)
3	Tennessee	434
4	Kentucky	405
5	South Carolina	287
6	Missouri	224
7	Vanderbilt	101

Schedule

Tennessee had games scheduled against Charlotte, Furman, Oklahoma, and Troy, which were all canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[5][6][7][8]

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 26	7:30 p.m.	at South Carolina	No. 16	Williams–Brice Stadium Columbia, SC (rivalry)	SECN	W 31–27 (vacated)	15,009
October 3	12:00 p.m.	Missouri	No. 21	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN	SECN	W 35–12 (vacated)	21,159
October 10	3:30 p.m.	at No. 3 Georgia	No. 14	Sanford Stadium Athens, GA (rivalry)	CBS	L 21–44	20,524
October 17	12:00 p.m.	Kentucky	No. 18	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN (rivalry)	SECN	L 7–34	22,519
October 24	3:30 p.m.	No. 2 Alabama		Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN (Third Saturday in October)	CBS	L 17–48	23,394
November 7	7:30 p.m.	at Arkansas		Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium Fayetteville, AR	SECN	L 13–24	16,500
November 21	7:00 p.m.	at No. 23 Auburn		Jordan–Hare Stadium Auburn, AL (rivalry)	ESPN	L 17–30	17,490
December 5	3:30 p.m.	No. 6 Florida		Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN (rivalry)	CBS	L 19–31	22,943
December 12	4:00 p.m.	at Vanderbilt		Vanderbilt Stadium Nashville, TN (rivalry)	SECN	W 42–17 (vacated)	849
December 19	11:00	No. 5 Texas A&M		Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN	ESPN	L 13–34	22,232
Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll and CFP Rankings (after November 24) released prior to game All times are in Eastern time

The SEC postponed Tennessee vs. Vanderbilt to facilitate the rescheduling of the Vanderbilt-Missouri game. The shuffling allows for the opportunity for all 14 SEC teams to play 10 regular-season games.^[9][10]

Tennessee accepted an invitation to play in the Auto Zone Liberty Bowl in Memphis, TN held on December 31, 2020, but was forced to withdraw due to Coach Pruitt and several players testing positive for COVID-19.^[11][2]

Game summaries

At South Carolina

See also: 2020 South Carolina Gamecocks football team

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
#16 Tennessee	7	7	10	7	31
South Carolina	7	0	14	6	27

Tennessee at South Carolina

at Williams–Brice Stadium, Columbia, SC

• Date: September 26 ^[12]
• Game time: 7:30 p.m.
• Game weather: Cloudy, 79 °F (26 °C)
• Game attendance: 15,009
• Referee: Ken Williamson
• TV announcers (SECN): Taylor Zarzour (play-by-play), Matt Stinchcomb (color) and Alyssa Lang (sidelines)

Missouri

See also: 2020 Missouri Tigers football team

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Missouri	0	6	6	0	12
#21 Tennessee	7	14	7	7	35

Missouri at Tennessee

at Neyland Stadium, Knoxville, TN

• Date: October 3 ^[13]
• Game time: 12:00 p.m.
• Game weather: Sunny, 55 °F (13 °C)
• Game attendance: 21,159
• Referee: Steve Marlow
• TV announcers (SECN): Dave Neal (play-by-play), D. J. Shockley (color), and Dawn Davenport (sidelines)

At #3 Georgia

See also: 2020 Georgia Bulldogs football team and Georgia–Tennessee football rivalry

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
#14 Tennessee	7	14	0	0	21
#3 Georgia	7	10	14	14	45

Tennessee at Georgia

at Sanford Stadium, Athens, GA

• Date: October 10 ^[14]
• Game time: 3:30 p.m.
• Game weather: Cloudy, 79 °F (26 °C)
• Game attendance: 20,524
• Referee: David Smith
• TV announcers (CBS): Brad Nessler (play-by-play), Gary Danielson (color), and Dawn Davenport (sidelines)

Kentucky

See also: 2020 Kentucky Wildcats football team and Kentucky–Tennessee football rivalry

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Kentucky	0	17	10	7	34
#21 Tennessee	0	7	0	0	7

Kentucky at Tennessee

at Neyland Stadium, Knoxville, TN

• Date: October 17 ^[15]
• Game time: 12:00 p.m.
• Game weather: Sunny, 85 °F (29 °C)
• Game attendance: 22,519
• Referee: Marc Curles
• TV announcers (SECN): Tom Hart (play-by-play), Jordan Rodgers (color), Cole Cubelic (sidelines)

#2 Alabama

See also: 2020 Alabama Crimson Tide football team and Third Saturday in October

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
#2 Alabama	14	14	14	6	48
Tennessee	0	10	7	0	17

Alabama at Tennessee ^[16]

at Neyland Stadium, Knoxville, TN

• Date: October 24
• Game time: 3:30 p.m.
• Game weather: Cloudy, 72 °F (22 °C)
• Game attendance: 23,394
• Referee: Alex Moore
• TV announcers (CBS): Brad Nessler (play-by-play), Gary Danielson (color), Jamie Erdahl (sidelines)

At Arkansas

See also: 2020 Arkansas Razorbacks football team

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Tennessee	3	10	0	0	13
Arkansas	0	0	24	0	24

Tennessee at Arkansas

at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium, Fayetteville, AR

• Date: November 7 ^[17]
• Game time: 6:30 p.m.
• Game weather: Clear, 57 °F (14 °C)
• Game attendance: 16,500
• Referee: Mark Loeffler
• TV announcers (SECN): Tom Hart (play-by-play), Jordan Rodgers (color), Cole Cubelic (sidelines)

At #23 Auburn

See also: 2020 Auburn Tigers football team and Auburn–Tennessee football rivalry

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Tennessee	7	3	0	7	17
#23 Auburn	0	10	10	10	30

Tennessee at Auburn

at Jordan–Hare Stadium, Auburn, AL

• Date: November 21 ^[18]
• Game time: 6:00 p.m.
• Game weather: Clear, 61 °F (16 °C)
• Game attendance: 17,490
• Referee: David Smith
• TV announcers (ESPN): Joe Tessitore (play-by-play), Greg McElroy (color), Allison Williams (sidelines)

#6 Florida

See also: 2020 Florida Gators football team and Florida–Tennessee football rivalry

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
#6 Florida	3	14	7	7	31
Tennessee	0	7	0	12	19

Florida at Tennessee

at Neyland Stadium, Knoxville, TN

• Date: December 5 ^[19]
• Game time: 3:30 p.m.
• Game weather: Clear, 51 °F (11 °C)
• Game attendance: 22,943
• Referee: Steve Marlowe
• TV announcers (CBS): Carter Blackburn (play-by-play), Aaron Murray (color), Jenny Dell (sidelines)

At Vanderbilt

See also: 2020 Vanderbilt Commodores football team and Tennessee–Vanderbilt football rivalry

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Tennessee	7	21	7	7	42
Vanderbilt	7	3	0	7	17

Tennessee at Vanderbilt

at Vanderbilt Stadium, Nashville, TN

• Date: December 12
• Game time: 3:00 p.m.
• Game weather: Partly cloudy, 66 °F (19 °C)
• Game attendance: 849
• Referee: Marc Curles
• TV announcers (SECN): Taylor Zarzour (play-by-play), Matt Stinchcomb (color) and Dawn Davenport (sidelines)
• ^[20]

Texas A&M

See also: 2020 Texas A&M Aggies football team

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Aggies	7	17	0	10	34
Volunteers	7	6	0	0	13

Texas A&M at Tennessee

at Neyland Stadium, Knoxville, TN

• Date: December 19 ^[21]
• Game time: 12:00 p.m.
• Game weather: Cloudy, 38 °F (3 °C)
• Game attendance: 22,645
• Referee: James Carter
• TV announcers (ESPN): Bob Wischusen (play-by-play), Dusty Dvoracek (color) and Quint Kessenich (sideline)

Rankings

Further information: 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
RV = Received votes

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	Final
AP	25	25*	15	16	21	14	18	RV
Coaches	RV	RV*	17	21	20	12	17	RV
CFP	Not released															Not released

Players drafted into the NFL

See also: 2021 NFL draft

Tennessee had two players selected in the 2021 NFL Draft.^[22]

Round	Pick	Player	Position	NFL Club
3	77	Josh Palmer	WR	Los Angeles Chargers
6	226	Trey Smith	OG	Kansas City Chiefs