Tennessee fixed one glaring problem from Georgia Tech game, but its 42-9 win revealed a tougher test vs. Texas
After 14 flags for 142 yards at Georgia Tech, Tennessee was penalized just three times for 20 yards against Kennesaw State, but the Vols’ offensive line still invites scrutiny before Texas.
The Tennessee Vols wrapped up their 2026 preseason slate with a 42-9 win over the Kennesaw State Owls on Saturday night at Neyland Stadium.
It was a game that was relatively lackluster yet workmanlike. Tennessee slogged their way through the first half but held a 21-3 lead going into the halftime break. The Vols came out and put the game away in the third quarter with two sustained touchdown drives.
The good news is that Tennessee managed to improve upon what ailed them in a 45-24 win over Georgia Tech the prior week: penalties. The Vols bought into Josh Heupel’s message on cleaning up those mistakes this week, as Tennessee was penalized just three times for 20 yards. Not bad at all.
But when one problem subsides, another pops up, and one became evident on Saturday night. Tennessee’s offensive line has strong parts, but you’re only as good as your weakest link, and there were problems against Kennesaw State that would only magnify against the number one team in the nation.
Tennessee’s offensive line is cause for concern going into Texas matchup
The Vols’ entire offensive line as a unit was not awful by any means. Tennessee rushed 41 times for 265 yards, so for 60 football minutes, the line did their job. Through three games, the Vols lead the SEC in rushing with 896 yards. Hard to argue they’ve been lacking in that regard.
But the Vols had some issues on their offensive line on Saturday night, particularly with right guard Sham Umarov, who had some head scratching moments while earning a 51.1 Pro Football Focus pass blocking mark, lowest among Tennessee’s starting offensive linemen. His 67.6 overall grade was next to lowest among the Vols’ OL starters. Reserve OL Ory Williams and Nic Moore also logged double digits snaps, but struggled with 59.8 and 56.1 grades, respectively.
This is against Kennesaw State. Even if Texas doesn’t have star pass rusher Colin Simmons, who left the UT-San Antonio game with an injury, the talent runneth over there, particularly in comparison to what any of the Vols’ first three opponents has on their rosters. One backfield whiff will lead to a negative play the vast majority of the time.
To be fair, Tennessee had some good performances on the line, including RT Jesse Perry, who had a team-best sterling 92.6 PFF grade. However, the entire unit, not just a few or the majority, need to play at a high level for Tennessee to pull off perhaps the biggest win of the college football season on Saturday. We’ll find out in less than a week if they can do it.
