Tennessee’s first real test at Georgia Tech will reveal how far the 2026 Vols’ are built to travel behind Faizon Brandon
Faizon Brandon faces his first road start as No. 18 Tennessee tests its consistency, physicality and revamped defense against a desperate Georgia Tech team in Atlanta.
The Tennessee Vols want to make it two straight net-positive results to open the season when it marches into Bobby Dodd Stadium to face the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. It’s a Saturday night in Atlanta for Week 2 of college football, and it carries very different stakes for each program coming out of Week 1. Both teams need a statement result, one that keeps the college football postseason and Playoff positioning on track.
During Fall camp, I joined a YouTube show to discuss this team, and I said then that this group is young but eager to learn from the mistakes of the teams in the past.
Vols Aim for More Consistency This Season
One thing we saw from the Vols last year was inconsistency. This year’s group wants to prove that the dominant opening is sustainable. It is a standard of results regardless of the opponent. Going from Week 1 to Week 2 is the first test of that. The coaches have preached the need for consistency. It is now time for the roster to deliver a sermon for the eyes and ears of college football so that the Vols can continue the climb in the AP/coaches poll.
The postseason is always watching. Who else is watching? Well, this time last year, Kayin Lee was watching the VFL Jermod McCoy and Colton Hood, who have now transitioned to the professional levels of the NFL. Did watching those two during their time at Tennessee play a role in his choice to commit to the T? Georgia native and Auburn transfer Kayin Lee told me this week that, although he knows Colton Hood (NY Giants) more than he knows Jermod McCoy (Raiders) :“absolutely”.
What else did I hear this week? Coach Heupel, players and assistant coaches in media pressers all referenced a new level of competition from the opponent in Atlanta. And what was the biggest observation from them? The level of physicality will be elevated.
So what’ll ya have from the Tennessee Orange in Atlanta?
DeSean Bishop says his unit wants to be better by plus 1.
“We are the engine of this offense.”
Desean Bishop
Tennessee Running back
Defensive tackle from Greenbriar, Tennessee, Nathan Robinson paused to phrase it as best he could. After grading out and film study with the team, he explained that this was a very different look than Furman.
In week 2 for the defensive line, the senior stressed that fundamentals can not be overlooked.
“They (tech) are very talented.” He went on to describe them as “experienced backs,” while crediting the first-year under center for “keeps his eyes downfield.”
Nathan Robinson
Tennessee Defensive Tackle
Georgia Tech enters Tennessee game with immediate urgency
Georgia Tech (0-1) is coming off a gut punch. The Yellow Jackets led Colorado 13-7 in the closing minutes of their season opener before Buffaloes freshman quarterback Julian Lewis threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to tight end Charlie Williams with 37 seconds left. Georgia Tech answered by driving into potential game-winning field-goal range, but Colorado defensive back Boo Carter — a transfer from Tennessee — blocked the attempt as time expired. The block sealed a 14-13 Buffaloes win at Bobby Dodd Stadium.
It marked a difficult debut for the post-Haynes King era in Atlanta. King, a three-year starter who accounted for more than 4,600 yards of total offense across his final two seasons and is now with the NFL’s Carolina Panthers. Now, Tech has a new QB and It’s a familiar name out of Indiana. Alberto Mendoza, brother of 2025 Heisman winner and No. 1 overall NFL Draft pick Fernando Mendoza, now runs the offense under new coordinator George Godsey, who was hired after Buster Faulkner left for Florida.
The new QB completed 17 of 23 passes, connecting eight times with receiver Jordan Allen. But Georgia Tech’s ground game, expected to be a strength behind Michigan transfer Justice Haynes, never got on track, as Colorado’s front controlled the line of scrimmage.
For Brent Key, now in his fourth full season as Georgia Tech’s head coach, the matchup is an early test of a program trying to build off a nine-win 2025 season It was the best season since 2016 without the quarterback who helped get it there. Haynes King’s departure has changed the calculus for Tech opponents. Defensively, Tennessee coordinator Jim Knowles gets a boost with linebacker Arion Carter back from a one-game suspension; Carter, the Volunteers’ lone team captain during his absence, is regarded as the defense’s most disruptive player. Interior lineman Xavier Gilliam, who followed Knowles from Penn State, recorded three sacks and five tackles for loss against Furman, tied for the most tackles for loss of any player in the country through Week 1. He will face a Georgia Tech offensive line that allowed three sacks and eight tackles for loss against Colorado.
A loss would put the Yellow Jackets at 0-2 for the first time under Key, but the fourth-year coach has built his tenure in part on upsets of ranked opponents, and Georgia Tech will be looking to author one in front of its home crowd.
These two teams have met only twice in 40 years. Their last meeting, in 2017, went to double overtime before Tennessee pulled away to win.
Three matchups that will decide Tennessee vs. Georgia Tech
Can Georgia Tech’s offensive line hold up in the trenches against Xavier Gilliam and Tennessee’s front? The Yellow Jackets have an experienced offensive line group that combines for over 90 starts. But it allowed three sacks and eight tackles for loss against Colorado; Gilliam already has three sacks and five TFLs through one game. On paper, this looks mismatched. Since Georgia Tech likes to control the clock, disruption from the Vols’ front will be key to a Tennessee win. Arion Carter’s return only adds to that pressure. So watch for him to generate the kind of takeaway that’s been statistically rare for him, especially against a Georgia Tech offense that failed to score a touchdown in Week 1.
Alberto Mendoza vs. Faizon Brandon. Both are first-year starters, but Brandon looked electric in his debut (five total touchdowns), while Mendoza was somewhat efficient (73.9% completion rate) in a losing effort. How each handles the step up in competition and pressure will shape the game.
The secondary will be tested. In week 1, Coach Anthony Poindexter said they didn’t really see the ball get thrown downfield much. This unranked Georgia Tech team has skill and talent. They are not being overlooked. The Yellow Jakcets will produce a litmus test of sorts for Poindexter on his unit. There will be multiple formations, multiple shifts in formation. According to the Vols’ Co-Defensive Coordinator: “They will make you think.”
Heupel said it best this week: “It always comes down to the little things. That’s at home or on the road, but on the road it’s even amplified.”
Expect those details to be on full display under the ESPN primetime lights.
The Vols will return home from Atlanta to face Kennesaw State before the first SEC conference game of the season with Texas. Texas is ranked No. 4 in the AP poll and No. 3 in the coaches poll. We will know more about what is to come in conference play after a weekend with the ACC. The Vols are widely favored to win this one. This game will serve as a stepping stone for what’s ahead.
How To Watch
Date: Saturday, September 12, 2026
Kickoff: 7:00 p.m. ET
Location: Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field, Atlanta
- TV: ESPN — Bob Wischusen (play-by-play), Louis Riddick (analyst), Stormy Buonantony (sideline)
- Local: WIVK-FM 107.7 | WNML-FM 99.1
- SiriusXM: Ch. 177 or 230 (App: Ch. 954)
- Web/App:https://utsports.com/sports/vol-network
- Mike Keith (play-by-play), Jayson Swain (analyst), Brent Hubbs (sideline)
- Radio — Spanish Broadcast
- Local: WNML-AM 990
- Carlos Lopez (play-by-play), JP Vasquez (analyst)
