2017 Tennessee Volunteers football team

Departures of scholarship players from the 2016 team.

In a renewed rivalry with the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, the Tennessee Volunteers traveled to Atlanta to play in their second Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game. The Volunteers never had the lead in regulation play but scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to tie the game at 28 and force overtime. Each team traded touchdowns through two overtimes with Georgia Tech ultimately seeking to win the game on a two-point conversion. However, quarterback TaQuon Marshall could not complete the pass, and Tennessee secured the 42–41 victory.[11]

In his first start as a Volunteer, quarterback Quentin Dormady went 20-for-37 for 221 passing yards and a pair of touchdowns, both to wide receiver Marquez Callaway.[12] Running back John Kelly ran for 128 rushing yards and four touchdowns.[13] After averaging 47 yards on six punts, five of which pinned the Yellow Jackets inside their 20-yard line, punter Trevor Daniel was named Ray Guy Award Punter of the Week.[14]

Following the game, Tennessee head coach Butch Jones stated, "That was a very good college football game. I have a lot of respect for Georgia Tech. I am really proud of our players. We spoke all week long about a will to win, and that was the kind of game to find out our will to win. We knew that this was going to be a game that you had to show some resolve and some grit, and you had to play complementary football." He added, "The resolve and resiliency of our defense, even though we gave up [535] yards rushing, we still managed to force two takeaways, and offensively, we didn't turn the football over, which was paramount to winning the football game."[15]

In their home opener, the #25 Tennessee Volunteers hosted the Indiana State Sycamores in the teams' first-ever meeting. From the opening kickoff, which Tennessee freshman running back Ty Chandler returned 91 yards for a touchdown, the Volunteers scored 28 unanswered points.[17] Indiana State's only touchdown came early in the third quarter. Tennessee scored twice more to win their home-opener, 42–7.[18] Following the game, Chandler was named SEC Freshman of the Week.[19]

Tennessee head coach Butch Jones called the outcome "a good win." He added, "With the short turnaround, I thought [our players] did a very good job all week long of trying to prepare their bodies and their minds, so I'm really proud of them. I thought one of the keys to the game was third-down defense and being able to get off the field."[20]

In a defensive battle throughout much of the game, the #23 Tennessee Volunteers faced their rivals, the #24 Florida Gators in Gainesville. Down by 10 points in the fourth quarter, Tennessee recovered to allow kicker Aaron Medley to tie the game at 20, after getting stalled in Florida territory with less than a minute to play. As time expired, Florida quarterback Feleipe Franks threw a 63-yard pass to open wide receiver Tyrie Cleveland for a touchdown, sealing a 26–20 victory.[22]

For the 11th straight time, the Crimson Tide defeated the Volunteers in their annual rivalry game. Tennessee's lone score came on a 97-yard pick-six from Daniel Bituli off of Tua Tagovailoa in the third quarter.

For only the second time in the last 33 meetings, and despite having a turnover margin of 4–0, the Kentucky Wildcats defeated the Tennessee Volunteers by a score of 29–26.

The Volunteers snapped a four-game losing streak in the 24–10 victory over Southern Miss. Running back John Kelly recorded two touchdowns and quarterback Jarrett Guarantano had one rushing touchdown.