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Watch: Josh Heupel addresses Tennessee players after season-opening win over Syracuse

IMG_3593by: Grant Ramey08/30/25GrantRamey
Josh Heupel | Tennessee Football, Tennessee Athletics
Josh Heupel | Tennessee Football, Tennessee Athletics

Josh Heupel had his hat on backward and wore a smile from ear to ear as he patted a game ball in the Tennessee locker room at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. He had a lot to talk about after the Vols beat Syracuse 45-26 to open the new season.

“That was fun, wasn’t it?” Heupel asked his team. “Yeah, I love it.”

Joey Aguilar passed for 247 and three touchdowns and ran for 34 more yards in his debut as Tennessee’s new starting quarterback. The Vols rushed for 246 yards as a team, with Star Thomas (92 yards), DeSean Bishop (82) and Peyton Lewis (38) splitting the load.

Braylon Staley caught a 73-yard touchdown pass and led the Vols with 95 yards receiving while Chris Brazzell II had a team-high eight catches for 62 yards. Thomas caught a touchdown pass and Lewis and Bishop both rushed for touchdowns.

Home Opener: Tennessee vs. ETSU, Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET

“Hey,” Heupel told his team, “all we’re trying to do is be the best team every Saturday when we step on the field. That’s it. That’s the beginning of our journey. We get another one next week.”

Tennessee (1-0) opens the home schedule next week against ETSU, with kickoff on Saturday scheduled for 3:30 p.m. Eastern Time, streaming on ESPN+ and SEC Network+. The Vols open SEC play at home in two weeks against Georgia (3:30 p.m. ET, ABC).

“Good teams,” Heupel said to his team, “they keep getting what?”

“Better,” the Vols shouted back. 

Heupel handed out a game ball to linebacker Jeremiah Telander, who picked off a pass deflected by Jalen McMurray early in the second half, and others to defensive lineman Nathan Robinson and cornerback Colton Hood.

Robinson stripped Syracuse quarterback Steve Angeli late in the first quarter, after Tennessee lost a fumble on the previous play, and Hood scooped up the Orange fumble and returned it 22 yards for a touchdown. 

Josh Heupel: We ‘got a chance to have a really special group’

Lewis scored the first touchdown of the season on a 2-yard run in the first quarter, after Max Gilbert kicked a 27-yard field goal on Tennessee’s first possession. 

Bishop scored on a 1-yard run with 21 seconds left in the first half, putting Tennessee up 24-7 at the break. Thomas caught a 7-yard touchdown in the third quarter and Aguilar found tight end Miles Kitselman in the back of the end zone to put the Vols up 45-26 with 3:57 left.

“Great teams don’t make the same mistake twice,” Heupel said. “Got a chance to have a really special group.”

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