Tennessee football was scheduled to play Nebraska in 2026 and 2027 as a part of a home-and-home non-conference playing contract. According to ESPN insider Pete Thamel, that will no longer take place as Nebraska has backed out of the contract.
Sources: Tennessee and Nebraska are canceling their upcoming football series, which was schedule for 2026 in Lincoln and 2027 in Knoxville. A driver of the move was Nebraska wanting eight home games in 2027 when they expected reduced stadium capacity because of renovations.
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) February 21, 2025
It is disappointing to see Nebraska back out of the contract over wanting an extra home game in 2027. The easiest response is to switch the 2026 game to Knoxville, and the 2027 game to Lincoln, but Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule could simply be looking to add an easier game those two years.
This is not the first cancellation Nebraska has made this offseason. The Cornhuskers also canceled their spring game this year out of fear that their players would be poached by better programs in the spring transfer portal.
Tennessee Athletics Director Danny White responded to the initial report that the programs' cancellation of the home-and-home series was mutual, saying Tennessee did not want to cancel, but this is a direct result of Nebraska's decision to cancel the contract less than two years before the game date.
Correction: Tennessee is not canceling this series. Nebraska did. We are very disappointed that they didn’t want to play these games, especially this close to 2026. https://t.co/uSz7kAXk94
— Danny White (@AD_DannyWhite) February 21, 2025
While it's disappointing that many Tennessee fans won't get to make a highly anticipated trip to Lincoln, Tennessee football will profit $1,000,000 from the games not being played, as Nebraska will owe $500,000 for each game.
Now Danny White and Josh Heupel will have to work to quickly replace the game with another Power 4 opponent. Under the SEC's current scheduling contract, each SEC team has to schedule at least one P4 opponent every season and play eight conference games.
Nebraska's cancellation on Tennessee leaves the Vols with one non-conference game for each season. The Vols are scheduled to host Furman in 2026 and Western Michigan in 2027 as non-conference matchups.
Tennessee now faces one of its toughest offseason challenges this year: finding a replacement for the game. Tennessee's 2026 matchup was scheduled for September 12, while the 2027 matchup was scheduled for September 11.