Tennessee football has a stacked nine-game SEC schedule this season, which features some not-often-seen matchups. One of the games that isn’t played too often is with LSU. During the 2026 season, the Tigers will play in Neyland Stadium for the first time since 2017.
Ahead of the matchup, which features the return of former UT head coach Lane Kiffin, DraftKings has released betting odds for the game. Vegas anticipates it to be a toss-up, with LSU just a 1.5-point favorite on the road. There are currently no moneyline or total points over/under bets you can make.
The game is scheduled for Nov. 21, 2026, with no kickoff time or TV designation determined at this point. It does mark Senior Day and the final home game of the year for UT, though.
This will be the 35th meeting between the teams. Tennessee currently owns a commanding 21-10-3 series lead.
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This will be the second time Kiffin has returned to coach a game in Knoxville as a head coach. In 2021, he led Ole Miss into Neyland Stadium to play Josh Heupel’s first Tennessee team. The result was multiple controversial rulings going the Rebels’ way, and Kiffin’s team barely sneaking out with a win. The game was also infamous for the crowd reaction of throwing trash on the field and causing a delay after what fans deemed a missed call by officials.
Now, Kiffin is in his first year with a program for the game. He left Ole Miss after the regular season for Baton Rouge to lead LSU. His quarterback will be Sam Leavitt, a transfer portal target out of Arizona State that Tennessee was in communication with throughout the offseason.
For Tennessee, it isn’t clear who will start at quarterback. The Vols are holding a quarterback battle between redshirt-freshman George MacIntyre, true freshman Faizon Brandon and Colorado transfer Ryan Staub. Reports indicate Brandon is gaining steam to win the job, but it’s still a completely open competition entering fall camp.
