General Notes
- Saturday's attendance at Ohio Stadium: 102,819
- Tennessee's all-time on-field record fell to 886-417-53 with Saturday's loss (NCAA record: 875-417-53).
- Saturday marked the second meeting between the Vols and Buckeyes, and Ohio State evened the series to 1-1 all-time.
- The programs previously met in the 1996 Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida, with Tennessee earning a 20-14 victory. Running back Jay Graham was named MVP after rushing 26 times for 154 yards, including a 69-yard touchdown.
- Saturday's game was the Vols' first in the state of Ohio, and Tennessee has now played in 26 states.
The Vols have never played a game in: Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
- It was also UT's first road game against a team who is a member of the Big Ten at the time of meeting. The Vols' other Big Ten matchups occurred at bowl games, regular season home games or neutral site games.
- Tennessee is just the fourth team to play a game at Ohio Stadium as a member of the SEC and first since Ohio State rallied from a 13-point deficit in the final two minutes to defeat LSU, 36-33, on Sept. 24, 1988.
- Tennessee finished 10-3 on the season, earning its second 10-win campaign in the past three seasons under head coach Josh Heupel. The Vols' 30 victories since 2022 are the most for the program in a three-year span since 1998-2000 (30 victories).
- ESPN College Gameday originated from Columbus for the College Football Playoff First Round, marking Tennessee's 27th appearance all-time on the show and third this season. College Gameday has been on site for six Tennessee games since 2022, and the Vols own a 3-3 record in those contests.
- Saturday's result snapped a 14-game winning streak for Tennessee against non-conference opponents that dated back to the 2022 season opener against Ball State. It was the program's longest streak against non-SEC foes since winning 27 straight from 1969-73.
- The Vols are 18-3 against non-conference opponents under Heupel since 2021.
- Voice of the Vols Bob Kesling called his final game as Tennessee football's radio play-by-play announcer for the Vol Network on Saturday, capping a 50-year career with the network and his 26th season as Voice of the Vols.
- The temperature at kickoff for Saturday night's game was 25 degrees, tying the third-coldest game for the Vols since 1950.
- Nov. 25, 1950 vs. Kentucky - 10 degrees
- Nov. 22, 1952 vs. Kentucky - 18 degrees
- Nov. 26, 1977 vs. Vanderbilt - 25 degrees
- Dec. 21, 2024 at Ohio State - 25 degrees
Vol Captains/Coin Toss
Team Offensive Notes
- Tennessee finished Saturday's contest with 152 rushing yards as a team, ending the season with 2,936, which were the second-most in program history and 132 shy of the program record (3,068) set in 1951.
Individual Offensive Notes
- Junior RB Dylan Sampson capped a historic season for the Vols, finishing the campaign with single-season school records for rushing yards (1,491), rushing touchdowns (22), total touchdowns scored (22), total points scored (132) and consecutive games with a rushing touchdown (11).
- Sampson's 258 rushing attempts on the year ranked fifth in program history and were the most by a Vol since Jalen Hurd had 277 in 2015.
- His 22 rushing touchdowns finished tied for fifth in SEC single-season history and were the most by a running back in the conference since Najee Harris led the FBS with 26 in 2020.
- Redshirt freshman QB Nico Iamaleava finished his first season as the starting signal caller with a 10-3 record, becoming the first freshman quarterback – true or redshirt – in Tennessee history to win 10 games in a single season. He's also the first Tennessee QB to win 10 games in a season since Casey Clausen posted a 10-3 record as a senior in 2003.
- The Long Beach, California, native carried the ball 20 times for 47 yards – including his second and third rushing touchdowns of the year with a pair of two-yard plunges in the second and fourth quarter.
- Freshman RB Peyton Lewis led the Vols in rushing against Ohio State, carrying the ball 10 times for 77 yards to cap his rookie season with 64 rushes for 339 yards.
Team Defensive Notes
- Tennessee's defense finished the season allowing 16.1 points per game, its best scoring defense since allowing 14.5 points per game during the 1998 national championship season.
- The Vols registered seven tackles for loss in Saturday's game, finishing the year with 100 TFLs – tied for the eighth most in a season in Tennessee history.
- Tennessee has produced triple-digit tackles for loss in three of four seasons under defensive coordinator Tim Banks.
Individual Defensive Notes
- Redshirt-senior DB Will Brooks recorded his fourth interception of the season with a toe-tap catch in the back of the end zone with 10:02 remaining in the second quarter. The Birmingham, Alabama, native is tied with sophomore corner Jermod McCoy for the team lead with four interceptions this season – the most by a Vol in a single season since Nigel Warrior also had four in 2019.
- Brooks and McCoy are the first Vol teammates to have at least four interceptions in the same season since Janzen Jackson and Prentiss Waggner each had five in 2010.
Special Teams Notes
- Redshirt freshman PK Max Gilbert made his only field goal on Saturday, knocking a 36-yard attempt through the uprights with 6:39 remaining in the second half. The Memphis product finished his first year as the starting placekicker scoring 113 points – ranking seventh in school history and fourth by kicking only.
- Gilbert was 20-of-26 on field goals and 53-of-53 on extra points during the 2024 season. His 20 made field goals rank tied for sixth in program history, and he produced the 14th season of a UT kicker making 100 percent of his PATs (min. 35 attempts).
Career Highs: The following players set or tied career highs in the respective statistical categories listed below:
Offense
Defense/Special Teams
- DB Will Brooks
- 1 tackle for loss (ties career high)
- 1 interception (ties career high)
- LB Arion Carter
- 1 pass defended (ties career high)
- LB Kalib Perry
- 4 tackles (ties career high)
- LB Caleb Herring
- 2 tackles (ties career high)
- 1 tackle for loss (ties career high)
- LB Jeremiah Telander
- 10 tackles
- 1 tackle for loss (ties career high)