It’s early, sure, but the first wave of preseason bowl projections is already painting a pretty modest picture for Tennessee heading into the 2026 season.
The Vols, now being led by Faizon Brandon, are showing up in the kind of bowls that usually come with a solid but unspectacular record. Kyle Bonagura of ESPN.com has Tennessee facing Iowa in the Music City Bowl.
Mark Schlabach, also of ESPN.com, slots the Vols into the Texas Bowl against Oklahoma State. Brad Crawford of CBSSports.com has Tennessee in the Texas Bowl as well, but against TCU.
Brett McMurphy of On3 Sports goes with the ReliaQuest Bowl, where Tennessee would meet Illinois.
That’s not exactly a glowing forecast.
The Texas Bowl projections stand out as the lowest bar of the bunch, and the comparison point says plenty. A 7-5 LSU team played in that game last year and lost to Houston, 38-35, which suggests Tennessee would likely need to land somewhere in the 7-5 or 8-4 range to end up there.
The Music City Bowl isn’t a huge leap from that. That slot also points toward a similar record range, and Tennessee went there at 8-4 last season.
The ReliaQuest Bowl would represent a slight bump, probably in the 9-3 or 8-4 neighborhood. The matchup with Illinois would not exactly light the world on fire after Tennessee played them in Nashville last year, though Tampa does offer a nicer setting this time of year.
Taken together, the projections make one thing pretty clear: most people do not see Tennessee as a serious College Football Playoff contender entering 2026.
And that may not be the worst thing.
That kind of outside view gives Tennessee something to point at in the locker room. It also lets the Vols work without a lot of noise around them. The real question is whether they can beat those expectations and stack together a better season than the projections suggest.
Even if they don’t, the year still matters. Tennessee is building toward 2027, when the window could open wider with David Gabriel Georges coming in, Faizon having a year under his belt, and Jim Knowles’ defense having had a full season to settle in.
In Other News...
Arkansas Just Gave Tennessee One More Reason To Watch Fayetteville
Arkansas has settled its quarterback question for the opener, and Tennessee has another early-season wrinkle to keep an eye on as the Vols scout the SEC landscape. Junior KJ Jackson will start against North Alabama, giving the Razorbacks a new face under center after Taylen Green held the job last season. Jackson, who appeared in five games a year ago, won the competition over sophomore transfer AJ Hill, who arrived from Memphis.
KJ Jacksons promotion adds another layer to what Tennessee will eventually have to sort through when Arkansas shows up on the schedule. Even in a game that should be manageable on paper for the Razorbacks, the quarterback choice matters because it hints at how quickly Arkansas wants to settle its offense and how much confidence it has in Jackson right away. For the Vols, it means Fayetteville now has one more developing storyline worth tracking before the real SEC pressure begins. [Read more 🡒]
Tennessees Quarterback Call Just Created A Massive 2026 Debate
The quarterback picture in Knoxville just got a lot clearer for 2026, with Tennessee choosing Faizon Brandon to lead the offense after a competition with George MacIntyre. It is the kind of decision that immediately shapes the conversation around a program, because the No. 1 quarterback spot is never just about one player - it sets the tone for everything from practice reps to how the depth chart settles behind him.
Brandon now steps into the job with the edge over a talented challenger, and the choice says plenty about how Tennessee views the two young quarterbacks. MacIntyre remains part of the discussion, which is what makes the situation worth watching beyond the initial announcement, because the Volunteers have made their call but the larger conversation around what comes next is still very much alive. [Read more 🡒]
Heupel Keeps Tennessees Arion Carter Frustration Front And Center
Tennessee linebacker Arion Carters season-opening absence remains a sore spot for Josh Heupel, who has not shied away from making his frustration known since the NCAA handed down a two-game suspension over a $427 flight paid for during the pre-NFL draft process. Carter repaid the money after deciding to return to college, but the penalty still landed him on the sideline to start the year, and Heupel has continued to frame it as an example of how uneven the NCAAs approach can feel.
The situation sits in the middle of a broader fight around eligibility rules, one that has only become more complicated as other players have returned to college football after receiving far larger NFL bonuses. Cleveland Browns rookie DaeQuan Wright is among those cases, and the contrast has only sharpened the scrutiny on Carters punishment as legal challenges to NCAA rules continue to work their way through the sport. [Read more 🡒]