CHARLOTTE, NC – No. 14/12 Tennessee will look to build on a successful week one performance as it looks to move up in the league on Saturday night when it takes on one of the ACC’s top teams, No. 24/23 NC State, in the Duke’s Mayo Classic at 7:30 p.m. at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte.

Saturday’s game will mark the Vols’ second time playing at Bank of America Stadium. UT played West Virginia in the 2018 Belk College Kickoff in its only previous visit.

BROADCAST INFO

The ABC primetime crew of Rece Davis (PxP), Kirk Herbstreit (analyst) and Holly Rowe (sideline reporter) will call Saturday’s game. Coverage begins at 7:30 p.m. ET with kickoff scheduled for 7:44 p.m.

UT fans can tune in to Tennessee’s official broadcast on the Vol Network (Local: WIVK-FM 107.7/WNML-FM 99.1) across 65 stations throughout the state of Tennessee and the Southeast, SiriusXM (Ch. 374) and the SiriusXM app (Ch. 374), as well as the Varsity app. A live audio stream of the broadcast will also be available on UTSports.com​ and the Tennessee Athletics app. Fans attending the game are encouraged to tune in to the broadcast on the Vol Network Stadiumcast on 89.5 FM.

Bob Kesling (PxP), VFL Pat Ryan (Analyst) and Brent Hubbs (Analyst) will cover the action, while VFL Jayson Swain will handle touchline duties for the Vol Network radio broadcast. The Big Orange Countdown pregame show will begin two hours prior to kickoff at 5:30pm. The pregame show will be hosted by John Wilkerson, Brent Hubbs, VFL Jayson Swain and a rotating VFL special guest each week. The Vol Network will celebrate its 75th anniversary in 2024.

The Spanish broadcast is available locally on WNML-AM 990 with Carlos Lopez (play-by-play) and VFL Fuad Reveiz on the call. That version is also available on UTsports.com and the Tennessee Athletics app.

GAMEDAY INFO

Fan information for this year’s Duke’s Mayo Classic can be found HERE . The Bank of America Stadium ticket office opens at 1:00 p.m. Gates open at 5:30 p.m.

TICKETS AND PARKING

Tickets for Saturday can be purchased through Ticketmaster by clicking HERE.

Mobile tickets are required for all access to Bank of America Stadium events, as PDF tickets are no longer valid for entry. All users, both multi-game and single-game ticket buyers, must purchase their tickets via the free Charlotte Sports Foundation mobile appFor more information, click HERE.

Parking and travel information for Saturday can be found HERE.

GAMEDAY EVENTS AND ACTIVITIES

FanFest: Fans of both teams are encouraged to attend the Duke’s Mayo Classic FanFest event prior to the game, featuring food and beverages, live music, a kids’ zone and more. For more information on FanFest, click HERE.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

The Nico era has begun

Tennessee is one of two SEC teams (South Carolina) that will start a redshirt freshman quarterback in 2024 as Nico Iamaleava has taken the reins. Iamaleava, a former five-star recruit from Long Beach, Calif., made his second career start and his first at Neyland Stadium this past weekend.

He was named SEC Co-Freshman of the Week after setting a UT record for most passing yards in a half with 314, breaking the previous record of 313 set by Tyler Bray in the first half against Troy on Nov. 3, 2012. It was the fourth time in program history that he has passed for 300 yards in a half.

Iamaleava completed his first 10 passes and finished 22 of 28 with three touchdowns and no interceptions in just one half of work. He was the first freshman quarterback (true or redshirt) to start an opener for the Vols since true freshman Brent Schaeffer did so against UNLV on September 5, 2004.

Offensive fireworks in season opener
The Vols opened their 128th season with 718 yards of total offense in a convincing 69-3 victory over Chattanooga on Saturday at Neyland Stadium. The 69 points were the second-most points scored in the modern era (1937-present) and were the most in the Josh Heupel era.

The 66-point margin was the third-highest of the modern era. The margin of victory was the largest for Tennessee in a season opener since beating Carson-Newman 101-0 on Sept. 25, 1915, while the 718 yards of total offense were tied for the second-most in a single game in school history and the second-most in the Heupel era. The Vols produced 724 against Missouri in 2022.

The 718 yards were also the second-most by an FBS team in Week 1, trailing only Ole Miss’ 772. UT scored on its first seven possessions against the Mocs, including touchdowns on its first three drives. The Vols finished the first half with 45 points, seven shy of their program record for a half, and 503 total yards (314 passing, 189 rushing).

Non-Conference Win Streak
Tennessee has won 11 straight non-conference games and is 14-2 overall against non-SEC opponents under Heupel. UT has outscored non-conference opponents 772-236 in the Heupel era and has posted perfect non-conference regular season records in back-to-back years (2022-23) under Heupel.

Special teams continue to thrive
The Big Orange has flourished with special teams under the coordinator Mike Ekelerwho is in his fourth season with the program. Tennessee did it again in its Week 1 win over Chattanooga, as true freshman defensive end Jordan RossThe quarterback, who was making his college debut, blocked a punt and returned it 13 yards for a touchdown with 1:07 left in the fourth quarter. Ross was the first Vol to return a blocked punt for a touchdown since Daniel Bituli returned one 29 yards against South Carolina on Oct. 26, 2019.

SERIES HISTORY

Tennessee leads series, 2-1

The Vols and Wolfpack will face each other for the fourth time on Saturday. In the only other meeting between the two programs this century, UT defeated NC State 35-12 in the 2012 Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game in Atlanta.

Tennessee will be looking to make it four straight wins over ACC opponents after defeating No. 7 Clemson and No. 17 Pitt in 2022 and opening the 2023 season with a 49-13 win over Virginia in Nashville.

ABOUT NC STATE

The Wolfpack is led by head coach Dave Doeren, who has a record of 82-58 in his 12-year tenure as head coach in Raleigh.

Transfer quarterback Grayson McCall is in his first year leading the offense after a highly productive four-year career at Coastal Carolina. During his time with the Chanticleers, McCall threw for 10,005 yards and 106 touchdowns (88 passing, 18 rushing) in 42 games and earned Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year honors in each of the last three seasons. The North Carolina native completed 26 of 40 passes for 318 yards, three touchdowns and one interception in the Wolfpack’s season-opening win over Western Carolina on Thursday.

McCall has a handful of talented targets to throw to, none more dangerous than sophomore wide receiver Kevin “KC” Concepcion, who was named the 2023 ACC Rookie of the Year after amassing 1,179 all-purpose yards and 10 receiving touchdowns as a true freshman. Concepcion picked up where he left off last week in NC State’s season opener, leading the team with nine catches for 121 yards and three touchdowns against the Catamounts. On the ground, Duke transfer running back Jordan Waters was the team’s leading rusher in Week 1, with 124 yards on 20 carries and two catches of pay dirt.

Defensively, the Wolfpack have had to replace a handful of starters, including 2023 Butkus Award winner Payton Wilson at linebacker. Three different players finished with a team-high seven tackles in the season opener. Veteran corner Aydan White was among those with seven stops and also had a pair of pass breakups in the win. He was selected to the All-ACC third team in 2023 and has eight career interceptions.