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Tennessee

Where Josh Heupel is ranked in USA Today's top 25 college football coaches

IMG_3593by: Grant Ramey05/05/25GrantRamey
josh heupel

Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel is the 17th-best coach in college football, according to a new ranking from USA Today, as voted on by five USA Today college football writers. 

Georgia’s Kirby Smart, Ohio State’s Ryan Day and Clemson Dabo Swinney were the top three in the ranking, respectively, as the only three active coaches that have won a national championship. 

Texas coach Steve Sarkisian was next at No. 4, ahead of Penn State’s James Franklin. Next were Oregon’s Dan Lanning, Notre Dame’s Marcus Freeman, Alabama’s Kalen DeBoer, Ole Miss’s Lane Kiffin and LSU’s Brian Kelly.

Also ahead of Heupel was Iowa State’s Matt Campbell at No. 11, then Utah’s Kyle Wittingham, Indiana’s Curt Cignetti, Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz, Kansas State’s Chris Klieman and Louisville’s Jeff Brohm. 

Why Josh Heupel was ranked No. 17

USA Today on Heupel at No. 17: “If Tennessee didn’t hit rock bottom after firing Jeremy Pruitt amid an NCAA investigation, it at least could reach down and touch the bottom. Then Josh Heupel arrived and pulled the Vols out of peril. He’s beaten Alabama twice. He jolted Tennessee’s offense to life with his warp-speed system. In a sign of coaching growth, he made the playoff by building a good defense. He’s a coach with a high floor, even if he might be nearing his ceiling.”

The final seven coaches in the top 25 were Nebraska’s Matt Rhule, Illinois’s Bret Bielema, BYU’s Kalani Sitake, Kansas’s Lance Leipold, SMU’s Rhett Lashlee, USC’s Lincoln Riley, Missouri’s Eli Drinkwitz and Miami’s Mario Cristobal.

Listed in the ‘just missed” category was UNLV’s Dan Mullen, Utah State’s Bronco Mendenhall, Army’s Jeff Monken and Arizona State’s Kenny Dillingham. 

Heupel is 37-15 in four seasons as Tennessee’s head coach, including a 20-12 record in SEC games. He led the Vols to the College Football Playoff last season, where they lost in the first round at Ohio State in the first year of the 12-team playoff era. 

Tennessee has won 10 or more games twice under Heupel, finishing 10-3 last season and going 11-2 in 2022, including a win over Clemson in the Orange Bowl in the program’s first New Years Six bowl appearance during the College Football Playoff era. 

Tennessee opens 2025 season against Syracuse in Atlanta

Tennessee opens the season on August 30 in Atlanta against Syracuse. The Vols host ETSU in the home opener at Neyland Stadium on September 6 and SEC play starts at home against Georgia on September 13.

UAB comes to Knoxville on September 20 and the Vols go to Mississippi State on September 27 in the first SEC road game of the season. After an open date on October 4, Tennessee hosts Arkansas (October 11) then goes to Alabama (October 18) and Kentucky (October 25). 

In November the Vols host Oklahoma (November 1) and New Mexico State (November 15), go to Florida (November 22) and close the regular-season schedule at home against Vanderbilt (November 29).

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