KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee and Syracuse will begin the 2025 college football season in the Aflac Kickoff Game on Aug. 30 from Atlanta’s Marcedes-Benz Stadium at noon ET on ABC, the network announced Tuesday.
The 2025 Aflac Kickoff Game between the Orange and Volunteers is one of only three opening weekend matchups between two teams who made last season’s final College Football Playoff rankings.
“We’re expecting a sea of orange in Mercedes-Benz Stadium as we open up the 2025 season from the Capital of College Football,” said Gary Stokan, Peach Bowl, Inc. CEO and president. “It should be an exciting matchup between a CFP team from last year in Tennessee against an up-and-coming Syracuse program who finished the previous season ranked after defeating three top-25 teams.”
Tennessee is set to return to the Aflac Kickoff Game after winning its two previous trips in 2012 vs. NC State and a double-overtime thriller in 2017 vs. Georgia Tech.
This will mark only the fourth meeting between the two programs dating back to 1966. The Vols hold a 3-0 all-time record vs. the Orange, including a 33-9 win in their most recent meeting during the 2001 season. Notably, the two teams last played in a noon kickoff against each other to open Tennessee’s 1998 national championship season, a 34-33 UT victory.
Both teams will battle for The Old Leather Helmet Trophy, one of college football’s newest rivalry-style icons. Traditionally, winners of The Old Leather Helmet don the helmet on the field after the game, starting with the head coach and then rotating from player to player as the team celebrates its victory.
Tickets to the season-opener are on sale now at AllVols.com.
