JOSH HEUPEL

The Florida Gators play host to the Tennessee Volunteers in an early SEC matchup.

Tennessee has given coach Josh Heupel a big raise that puts him among the highest-paid coaches in college football.

Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker will miss the rest of the season after injuring his left knee in the fourth quarter of the ninth-ranked Volunteers loss to South Carolina.

Jalin Hyatt caught five passes for 138 yards and two touchdowns to lead No. 3 Tennessee to a 44-6 victory over No. 19 Kentucky.

The Tennessee Volunteers are proving just how quickly a traditional powerhouse can rebound despite seeming lost for well over a decade.

Chase McGrath made a 40-yard field goal as time expired to give No. 6 Tennessee a 52-49 victory over No. 3 Alabama on Saturday.

It could well be among the marquee quarterback matchups of the season: Alabama’s Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young versus Tennessee’s rising star Hendon Hooker.

Despite an upper-body injury and the absence of his favorite target, Hendon Hooker was at his best Saturday night.

The Southeastern Conference was perhaps one blocked kick away from perfection on opening weekend, with a few impressive nonconference wins and some no-brainers.

The Atlantic Coast and Southeastern Conferences are welcoming plenty of transfers bouncing between throughout their Southern-footprint leagues.

Mitchell Fineran kicked a 39-yard field goal in overtime and Purdue finished off its best season since 2003 by overcoming a 14-point deficit and beating Tennessee 48-45 on Thursday in a record-setting Music City Bowl.

Stetson Bennett ran for a touchdown and threw for another as top-ranked Georgia remained perfect, wrapping up its Southeastern Conference schedule by routing Tennessee 41-17.

Top-ranked Georgia and No. 3 Alabama appear headed for a showdown in the Southeastern Conference championship game.

Bryce Young passed for 371 yards and two touchdowns and ran for two more scores, carrying No. 4 Alabama to a 52-24 victory over traditional rival Tennessee.

No. 13 Mississippi held off Tennessee 31-26 on Saturday night after Rebels coach Lane Kiffin avoided being by hit by golf balls as Volunteers fans pelted the field with objects in the chaotic final minutes.

Emory Jones had two touchdown passes to go along with a career-high 144 yards rushing, leading No. 11 Florida to a 38-14 victory over Tennessee on Saturday night and extending nearly two decades of dominance in the series.

Southeastern Conference officials are trying to get back to normal on football game days, with stadiums filled with fans and grills being fired up outside, even in a portion of the country where the states have among the lowest COVID-19 vaccination rates.

The rich got even richer in the Southeastern Conference when the transfer floodgates opened wide.

New York Rangers coach David Quinn, middle rear, speaks to players during a timeout in the second period of the team's NHL hockey game against the Boston Bruins, Thursday, March 11, 2021, in Boston. The Latest on the effects of the coronavirus outbreak on sports around the world:___The New York Rangers will be without coach David Quinn and his entire staff tonight against Philadelphia because of NHL COVID protocol. Kris Knoblauch, who coaches the Rangers’ top minor league affiliate, the American Hockey League’s Hartford WolfPack, will serve as acting coach. Kruger said Harmon is the only Oklahoma player to test positive or be in contact tracing. The Volunteers have had multiple positive COVID-19 test results among athletes and staff members in recent rounds of testing.

Nebraska’s search for an identity in a changing college football landscape. On the latest AP Top 25 College Football Podcast, Steven Godfrey of Banner Society joins the AP’s Ralph Russo to take on the task of finding each conference’s most egregious underachiever. And how USC being unable to maximize its potential hurts all of college football. Plus, new Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea joins the show and shares his vision for transforming the Commodores. ___Follow Ralph D. Russo at https://twitter.com/ralphDrussoAP and listen at https://westwoodonepodcasts.com/pods/ap-top-25-college-football-podcast/Ad___More AP college football: https://apnews.com/Collegefootball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25

FILE - Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn reacts to a call during the second half of an NCAA college football game against LSU in Auburn, Ala., in this Saturday, Oct. 31, 2020, file photo. (AP Photo/Butch Dill, File)ORLANDO, Fla. – The University of Central Florida has struck a deal to make former Auburn football coach Gus Malzahn the Knights’ next head coach. He will replace Josh Heupel, who recently left to become the Tennessee Volunteers’ head coach, and he will be UCF’s ninth head football coach. Malzahn has been linked to the UCF job ever since the school hired athletics director Terry Mohajir, who worked with Malzahn at Arkansas State. Not only do I believe that he’s the best college football coach in state of Florida now, I believe he’ll put together one of the best staffs in America.

FILE - Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn argues a call during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Alabama in Auburn, Ala., in this Saturday, Nov. 30, 2019, file photo. Central Florida hired Gus Malzahn as its football coach Monday, Feb. 15, 2021, a little more than two months after he was fired by Auburn. “I truly believe that this is a program of the future in college football,” Malzahn said. Arkansas State won a conference title that season before Malzahn returned to Auburn as head coach. Ad“This is one of the top 25 coaching jobs in all of college football,” Malzahn said.

Mohajir was most recently Arkansas State University’s vice chancellor for intercollegiate athletics. While at Arkansas State, the school’s football team won four Sun Belt Conferences and made more than $90 million in facility improvements during his tenure. AdGraduating Arkansas State Red Wolves earned a job or admission to graduate school under a promise from Mohajir, according to UCF. Previously Mohajir was senior associate athletic director for external relations at Kansas and senior associate director of athletics for external relations at Florida Atlantic University. UCF will host a news conference Wednesday at 12:15 p.m. to welcome the new athletic director to campus.

New Tennessee NCAA college football head coach Josh Heupel, left, shakes hands with University of Tennessee athletics director Danny White after being presented a jersey speaks during an introductory press conference at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn., Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2021. If anything, I was trying not to hire the coach from UCF.”White hired Heupel on Wednesday as Tennessee's 27th head coach and fifth coach, not counting interim or acting coaches, since the end of the 2008 season. Heupel said he wasn't deterred by the NCAA investigation that started with the firing of Tennessee's last coach, Jeremy Pruitt. “I believe in a very, very bright future for Tennessee football,” Heupel said. White was hired on Jan. 21 and his first job was to find a new coach.

Central Florida head coach Josh Heupel, right, has words with head linesman Jim Casey, left, during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Cincinnati, Saturday, Nov. 21, 2020, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)ORLANDO, Fla. – Josh Heupel is leaving UCF to become the next Tennessee head football coach. He will become Tennessee’s fifth head coach, not counting interim or acting coaches, since the end of the 2008 season. Scott Carr, deputy AD for brand activation, is now serving as interim director of athletics, and defensive coordinator Randy Shannon will serve as interim head coach. He also served as interim head coach at Florida in 2017. “We would like to thank Coach Heupel for his contributions to UCF, and we wish Josh, Dawn, Hannah and Jace the best in their new endeavor,” UCF said.

(AP Photo/George Frey, Pool)Preparing for the Boca Raton Bowl proved a bit of a slippery slope for the Central Florida Knights. All part of Heupel’s plan to bring a dose of fun to the bowl game with some of the customary pageantry halted because of the COVID-19 pandemic. “A really good football team,” Heupel said. “Kind of reminds me of why you don’t play football in Provo in December,” Sitake joked. They're 0-3 in Florida bowl games, including losses in the 1976 Tangerine Bowl, 1985 Florida Citrus Bowl and 2014 Miami Beach Bowl.

All rights reserved)BOCA RATON, Fla. – The University of Central Florida has accepted a bid to play in the RoofClaim.com Boca Raton Bowl. [TRENDING: ‘Christmas Star’ forming soon | This holiday drone light show is way COOL]The game will be at 7 p.m. on Dec. 22 at FAU Stadium in Boca Raton. @UCF_Football will play in the Boca Raton Bowl on December 22nd. “Our players and staff are excited to be in this bowl game. @UCF_Football will "likely face" an ACC opponent in the Boca Raton Bowl on Dec. 22nd https://t.co/qtu7QkVrxz — Nathaniel Rivas (@nathanielrivas9) December 7, 2020Florida Atlantic defeated SMU 52-28 in the 2019 Boca Raton game.

ORLANDO, Fla. – UCF quarterback McKenzie Milton is transferring to another school, the star player announced in a video released Thursday. “I will be entering the transfer portal and playing my last year of college football elsewhere,” Milton said in an Instagram post. “I may be suiting up in different colors, but I’ll always bleed Black and Gold.”It’s not known where Milton will play next. In the video, Milton said leaving UCF is “one the hardest things for me to do.”“I’m trying to think of it more logically than emotionally,” he said. Milton thanked UCF Nation in his farewell video.

ORLANDO, Fla. – University of Central Florida head football coach Josh Heupel announced Wednesday four players have been dismissed from the team. “As of today, there are some young men who are no longer part of our football program. Three other UCF players were in the car at the time, according to the incident report. The university has not identified the players dismissed from the team. Coach Heupel did not say why the players were dismissed from the team.

Three other UCF players were in the car, according to the incident report. “I want to make it abundantly clear that the behavior of some of our football players last Thursday was completely inappropriate. That’s not us, that’s not UCF, that’s not UCF Football, and we have to be better than that,” UCF coach Josh Heupel said in a statement. Records show Collier told the investigator he had a gun underneath his seat, which he was told to leave in that location. As of Thursday, Collier is in the middle of an interim suspension process from UCF, according to the report.

Gabriel threw for 408 yards and four touchdowns to help UCF beat East Carolina 51-28 on Saturday, winning its American Athletic Conference opener for the fifth straight season in a game marked by the Knights' offensive brilliance and its early trouble with pre-snap penalties. “You never play a perfect game but we came out (and) we put 51 points up,” Gabriel said. UCF (2-0, 1-0) rolled to 632 total yards after amassing 660 in its opener, getting huge performances from receivers Jaylon Robinson and Marlon Williams. But there were also 19 penalties for 139 yards, 10 coming in the opening quarter with seven of those false-start flags. Going back to last week's Georgia Tech win, UCF has committed 14 false-start penalties this season.

All rights reserved)UCF is going to start the 2020 season against Georgia Tech at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday. Head Coach Josh Heupel is going into his third season with the Knights, he is 22-4 with the team. Georgia Tech is not ranked at the moment, but the Yellow Jackets did get a win against Florida State this past Saturday. The Yellow Jackets outscored FSU 16-3 in the second half. Joe Tessitore, Greg McElroy, Marty SmithWhat is the total for the game?

ORLANDO, Fla. Ten UCF football players have opted not to play during the 2020 season over concerns about COVID-19, head coach Josh Heupel said. Its the most unique thing that most of us have ever encountered in our lifetime, he said. Each of these kids that chose to opt out have different reasons behind their decision. THREAD: Full comment from #UCF Head Coach Josh Heupel on the 10 players opting out of the upcoming football season @news6wkmg pic.twitter.com/iW4Qab7wG4 Nathaniel Rivas (@nathanielrivas9) September 1, 2020#UCF Head Coach saying 10 players opting out of the upcoming 2020 football season. Tay Gowan and Darriel Mack, Jr., among the players not playing Nathaniel Rivas (@nathanielrivas9) September 1, 2020