Tennessee football will face off against Tennessee State in a non-conference matchup during the 2027 season, The Tennesseans Tom Kreager reported Monday afternoon. The game is currently scheduled at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville but TSU AD Mikki Allen told Organ that they want to move the game to the new Nissan Stadium, which is scheduled to open ahead of the 2027 football season.
The game is one of four marquee non-conference matchups that TSU is scheduling for upcoming seasons. TSU will also face Georgia (2026) and fellow instate foes MTSU (2028) and Vanderbilt (2029) in coming seasons.
The Tigers are entering a new era under first year head coach Reggie Barlow. Barlow replaced legendary Titans running back Eddie George who left Nashville to become Bowling Green’s head coach after four seasons leading the Tennessee State program.
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Barlow comes to Nashville after spending two seasons as the DC Defenders head coach in the UFL. He’s also served stints as head coach at Virginia State and Alabama State. Athletic Director Mikki Allen is a Murfreesboro native who played defensive back at Tennessee from 1996-99, totaling 61 tackles, three interceptions and two forced fumbles.
The meeting between Tennessee and Tennessee State will be the first ever between the Vols and Tigers on the gridiron.
Tennessee already has two non-conference games scheduled for the 2027 season. The Vols will host both Western Michigan and Georgia Tech at Neyland Stadium. Tennessee may not need to add a fourth out of conference game by 2027 with the SEC continuing to debate moving to a nine-game conference schedule.
Future Tennessee non-conference games include Syracuse, ETSU, UAB and New Mexico State in 2025 as well as Furman, Georgia Tech and Kennesaw State in 2026. The Vols will face West Virginia in Charlotte in 2028 before playing a home-and-home with Washington in 2029 and 2030.
