Tennessee and Texas are both 3-0 heading into a massive Week 4 showdown.

The Vols will host the Longhorns on Saturday at noon in a game that will have massive College Football Playoff implications.

Texas, which will enter the game as the No. 1 team in the nation, is the favorite in this matchup, but it’s far from a given that the Longhorns will leave Neyland Stadium with a win.

Tennessee, according to ESPN’s SP+ rankings, is playing like a top 10 team right now.

Résumé SP+ after 3 weeks:

1 Texas
2 Utah
3 Georgia
4 Notre Dame
5 Alabama
6 Florida
7 Tennessee
8 Northwestern
9 Mississippi State
10 Indiana
11 Miami
12 Nebraska
13 Penn State
14 Pitt
15 Iowa

(Reminder: Résumé SP+ is how you've played your opponents vs. a top-5 standard.)

— Bill Connelly (@ESPN_BillC) September 20, 2026

ESPN hits Tennessee with a slap in the face ahead of big game against Texas

ESPN’s Heather Dinich, despite where the Vols fall in Bill Connelly’s SP+ rankings, managed to hit the Vols with a big slap in the face on Sunday morning.

Dinich currently has Texas as the No. 1 team in her (way, way too early) College Football Playoff projection.

That’s fair (though it’s still too early for this talk).

What’s not fair is her take on the Longhorns’ remaining schedule.

Dinich listed games in November against LSU and Texas A&M as the toughest remaining games on Texas’s schedule.

But somehow there was no mention of the upcoming road matchup against a top 15 Tennessee team…

Wild.

“Nov. 14 at LSU. It’s one of the most daunting venues in the sport, and ESPN’s FPI still gives Texas a 65.5% chance to win,” wrote Dinich of the Longhorns’ toughest remaining game. “While the regular-season finale against Texas A&M won’t be easy, the Aggies showed Saturday they have several issues to fix if they’re going to be a factor in the SEC race.”

I don’t know how you even mention Texas A&M right now after they were just embarrassed at home by Kentucky.

And I don’t know how you don’t mention a road game in a crazy atmosphere against a top 15 team as one of the most difficult games remaining on the schedule.

I mean, Texas is around a 5 to 7 point favorite right now on most betting sites. That suggests this game could come down to the final play.

That scenario on the road seems to qualify as “tough” to me.

But ESPN is often dismissive of the Volunteers, so this is no surprise. It’s just a little more motivation for Tennessee.