Tennessee Will Participate in a “High Stakes Showdown” During College Football in 2024
In what is being called a “high stakes showdown,” the Tennessee Volunteers will square off in the 2024 college football season.
You will have a difficult time finding a program that does not have to face a challenging schedule of games at some point during the season when looking through SEC football schedules this year.
The Tennessee Volunteers are no exception to this, as their schedule has several upper-tier conference opponents, and one of them has already been deemed a ‘high-stakes showdown’.
The Athletic released an article that listed out some of the top high-stakes showdown games in college football this season, and Tennessee vs. Oklahoma made the list. Josh Heupel, the head coach, will be making his first trip back to Norman since joining the staff for the Volunteers’ first conference game of the year. The Athletic reports that the volunteers are playing with a lot on the line.
Questions regarding the Vols’ potential SEC deficit will surface if they lose. In a packed SEC schedule with more must-win games ahead, Oklahoma is still the conference’s rookie, according to the article.
The article also mentioned that the quarterback matchup between Nico Iamaleava and Jackson Arnold will be an interesting one to watch unfold. The upcoming seasons for both athletes are crucial to their collegiate careers. Iamaleava and Arnold, who are both entering their first full-season as starters, will both be aiming to establish themselves as two of the best players in their respective positions this year.
The first round of the College World Series brought fireworks as Tennessee defeated Florida State in a late-inning comeback win to walk it off, and North Carolina also walked off Virginia.
In the College World Series’ second round, the two teams will now play each other. The Volunteers come in as the top-ranked team so what does their matchup against the Tar Heels look like?
The Tar Heels have a 48-14 record overall, while Tennessee has a 56-12 record overall. As Wake Forest defeated North Carolina in the quarterfinals, the Vols defeated Vanderbilt to win the SEC Championship.
In order to move on, North Carolina would defeat LSU and Long Island University in the regional round. They advanced to the college world series by defeating West Virginia twice in the super regional round. Tennessee won 2-1 against Evansville in the super regional round after posting a perfect record in the regional round against Northern Kentucky, Southern Miss, and Indiana.
In terms of statistics, Tennessee has the 16th-best batting average (.312) in the nation, while North Carolina is ranked 31st (.304). However, North Carolina has allowed 62 more home runs to be hit by the Volunteers this season
Tennessee’s pitching staff has a season ERA of 3.95, which is sixth in the nation, while the Tar Heels’ 4.19 puts them in 14th place. This gives Tennessee a defensive advantage.
Some key players to know for both teams are first Tennessee’s Christian Moore, who has a batting average of .385 with 33 home runs and 72 RBIs on the year. In their game against Florida State, he became just the second player in College World Series history to hit for the cycle.
Outfielder Vance Honeycutt of North Carolina is the team’s best player, with a batting average of.307, 26 home runs, and 66 RBI. For the upcoming MLB draft, he is thought to be among the top 25 best prospects.
With the College World Series rounds being double elimination, neither team’s fate on Sunday is in doubt, but a win in this one would put them in a great position to go to the World Series Championship.
