After cruising to a 56-9 win over Furman in the season opener, the difficulty gets kicked up a notch for Tennessee in Week 2 when the Vols travel to Atlanta for a matchup against Georgia Tech. 

The Yellow Jackets suffered a tough one-point loss to Colorado in Week 1, but that outcome won’t change the fact that playing under the lights on the road will be a challenging task for Vols true freshman quarterback Faizon Brandon.

It can be argued that the way Week 1 played out is the worst-case scenario for Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel – because going into the season, everyone viewed this as a “toss-up” game for the Volunteers. Now, Tennessee is suddenly a double-digit favorite, and everyone is viewing Georgia Tech as a significant underdog. 

“It’s the worst case scenario for Josh Heupel,” said VolQuest’s Austin Price Tuesday on 104.5 The Zone’s Ramon and Will. “Because everybody’s going to think, ‘Oh, you’re going to win this game by a million because Georgia Tech’s not any good.’ Georgia Tech is very capable of bouncing back. Now, to what degree, I don’t know.

“I think if Tennessee plays its best and Georgia Tech plays its best, Tennessee wins. But if Tennessee does not and they let Georgia Tech hang around like they did Arkansas two years ago, a game Tennessee shouldn’t have lost on the road in Fayetteville, then you open yourself up to being upset.”

Georgia Tech is eager to make a statement and bounce back against Tennessee. 

Yellow Jackets head coach Brent Key has high standards, and he wasn’t shy about calling his team out after the rough showing against Colorado.

“You watch that thing (the loss to Colorado) and you see an unprepared, undisciplined, poorly coached soft football team,” said Key on 680 The Fan on Tuesday. “That’s what I just said in my press conference as well. As soon as that thing’s over, you’re going back and you’re searching and looking and seeing why those things took place.”

Tennessee should win this game, but it won’t be easy

Tennessee is a good team, and if the Vols are playing at their best, they should beat Georgia Tech. But if they get sloppy, commit pre-snap penalties, and get behind the chains, it could be a long night in Bobby Dodd Stadium. We’ve seen that play out before a couple of times in the Josh Heupel era…

So despite the point spread and despite the outcomes for both teams in Week 1, this is still going to be a tough matchup for Tennessee. Fortunately for UT fans, it sounds like the Vols’ players are locked in and not overlooking Georgia Tech just because of the Yellow Jackets’ loss to Colorado.

“I mean, yeah, they lost, but it was the first game,” said Vols defensive lineman Nathan Robinson on Monday. “Mistakes are going to happen. We had our fair share of them (against Furman). They’re going to clean that stuff up.

“So we’ve got to be ready for their best, and I expect to get their best. We talked about it in the team meeting room this morning. It sounds like their head coach challenged their O-line. So again, we’re just going to be ready for their best, and we’re going to have to bring our best.”

“We’ve got to be ready for their best, and I expect to get their best. We talked about it in the team meeting room this morning. It sounds like their head coach challenged their O line. So, we’re just going to be ready for their best.” – Tennessee DL Nathan Robinson on Georgia… pic.twitter.com/UqotEJgk3Z

— zach ragan (@zachTNT) September 7, 2026

If Tennessee is going to win this game, the Vols are going to have to find a way to effectively run the ball and avoid big mistakes. And they need to force Georgia Tech quarterback Alberto Mendoza to throw the ball more than the Yellow Jackets want him to.

If Tennessee can do those things, they should be okay in Atlanta.