Ryan WiluszKnoxville News Sentinel
Sept. 3, 2026, 5:10 a.m. ET
EA Sports has long promised, “If it’s in the game, it’s in the game.” In EA Sports College Football 27, Furman isn’t.
That’s why Tennessee’s season opener will be the only Volunteers game Knox News won’t simulate 100 times this season using the newest edition of the hit video game, available on Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5 and PC.
Then again, the Vols probably don’t need much help peering into the future against an FCS opponent. The orange and purple at Neyland Stadium may be the closest Tennessee comes this season to feeling like it’s facing Clemson, but the similarities between the South Carolina schools mostly end there.
Our crystal ball came in handy last year, as Knox News correctly predicted the winner of each Tennessee matchup until that pesky Vanderbilt upset to close the regular season. So, we’re reviving the series just like EA Sports revived college football video games in 2024, hoping to uncover a few clues about Tennessee’s future along the way.
- Set the scene: Every week, we’ll load up EA Sports College Football 27 and set Tennessee against its upcoming opponent using the latest roster updates. We’ll choose the appropriate stadium, get as close as possible to the real kickoff time and match the weather to the latest forecast.
- Load the spreadsheet: Before the first snap, we’ll have a spreadsheet ready to track all sorts of numbers, including scores, passing yards, rushing yards, turnovers and other stats that can reveal trends across 100 games.
- Watch it work: Then we’ll let the console handle the heavy lifting. Each simulation, which essentially fast-forwards through the game, takes just a few minutes. While it may sound like this takes all the fun out of gaming, the results are fascinating.
- Document the results: Once each game ends, the final score, box score and player statistics are waiting for us. We’ll log the results, average the numbers across all 100 simulations and use those figures to project what the one real game might look like, from the final score to passing yards, turnovers and more stats.
The simulations also let us revisit key moments to see who delivered standout performances. Along the way, we’ll keep an eye out for trends, surprises and the occasional completely bizarre result only a video game can produce.
How accurate is it? Take last season’s Oklahoma game as an example. EA Sports College Football 26 predicted a 29-24 Sooners victory. The actual result was Oklahoma 33, Tennessee 27, with each team’s point total landing within five points of the projection and the margin off by just one.
A few other things we like to do to make it fair:
- Look good, play good: If Tennessee announces its uniform combination ahead of time, we’ll set that, too. Whether the Vols are all about the orange, rocking Smokey Grey or wearing something a little darker, it shouldn’t affect the outcome. But it helps make the simulated experience feel more like the real deal.
- Divide and conquer: One hundred simulations generate a mountain of data. We’ll split up the work and compare notes so we can spot trends without spending the entire week staring at the same matchup. After all, we still have a real game to enjoy when Saturday rolls around on Rocky Top.
- Half and half: Fifty of the simulations start with Tennessee receiving, while the other 50 start with the Vols on defense.
Back to this weekend’s matchup against FU (that’s Furman University), we’ll save the spreadsheets and go with our gut: Vols by 90.
Ryan Wilusz is the business growth and development editor for Knox News. Email: ryan.wilusz@knoxnews.com; Cell: 865-317-5138; Instagram: @knoxscruff.
