Tennessee is heading into Saturday night with bigger fish on the horizon, but Josh Heupel wants no part of the idea that Kennesaw State is just a warmup act.
The No. 15 Volunteers host the Owls in Knoxville, Tenn., with a top-ranked Texas team waiting next week in the Southeastern Conference opener. Still, Heupel made it clear that his team’s focus has to stay locked on the game in front of it.
"It's not a tune-up," Heupel said. "You better show up every Saturday.
Like, you can look at the scores. Media, your family, your girlfriend, whoever -- they might want to pigeonhole you as this, but you decide who you are collectively as a team and as a program."
Heupel doubled down on that message, stressing that Tennessee has to approach every kickoff like it matters just as much as the next one.
"You can look at the scores every week," Heupel said. "You better get ready to go play.
When the ball is teed up, you better be playing at your best. The game unfolds (how) it unfolds, but you better prepare to go play for 60 minutes."
Tennessee comes in at 2-0 after a 45-24 road win over Georgia Tech last Saturday, a game powered by DeSean Bishop’s career-high 147 rushing yards and two touchdowns. The Volunteers are also easing new quarterback Faizon Brandon into the offense, and he has handled the early stretch cleanly: 374 passing yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions on 38 attempts.
The Vols did take a hit on offense. Tight end Ethan Davis, who caught a touchdown in each of the first two games, tore his ACL against Georgia Tech and is done for the season.
On the other side, Tennessee’s defense has been busy making life miserable for opposing quarterbacks. The Vols are tied for third nationally with 11 sacks and rank seventh with 20 tackles for loss. Xavier Gilliam and Mariyon Dye are tied for the team lead with three sacks apiece, while Gilliam tops Tennessee with 5.5 tackles for loss.
Kennesaw State arrives at 1-1 after a 31-17 home loss to Georgia State, a game in which the Owls gave up 230 rushing yards and watched the Panthers control the ball for nearly 38 minutes. Jerry Mack, the former Tennessee running backs coach now leading Kennesaw State, said the performance fell short of the standard his team needs.
"I think one of the some of the biggest takeaways were just our team effort right now, that's the one thing we talk about is always non-negotiable," Mack said. "I didn't feel like that was up to par. We have to get better in that aspect."
Mack also pointed to the challenge of walking into Knoxville at night, especially with a crowd and setting his team already knows from previous experience. The schools are meeting for the first time and are separated by roughly 190 miles.
"It's going to be a great atmosphere from a standpoint of it's going to be at night, it's going to be in Knoxville," Mack said. "Our fan base is going to be there, that we're bringing in. And also, too, we know what kind of environment that's going to be (from) being there before."
Kennesaw State does have some playmakers capable of changing the script. Quarterback Rickie Collins has thrown for 431 yards, two touchdowns and one interception while also adding 97 rushing yards and three scores. Latrelle Murrell has chipped in 100 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
Even with the Vols’ next opponent looming, Heupel is still paying close attention to Mack’s team. He said Mack’s work at Kennesaw State deserves respect, especially after a 2025 season in which the Owls went 10-4 and won Conference USA in his first year, earning him Conference USA Coach of the Year honors.
"He's a great leader of men. He's authentic. He's a really good recruiter, and he's able to hire a really good staff," Heupel said of Mack.
"You put all those pieces of the puzzle together -- he's smart, he's organized -- that's how you have consistency in your program. That's how you build a program. ... He's a really good coach."
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Tennessee's Kennesaw State Game Has A Knoxville Twist Fans Will Notice
No. 14 Tennessee gets a familiar-tinged matchup in Week 3 when Kennesaw State comes to Neyland Stadium on SEC Network, with the two programs meeting for the first time. For Vols fans, the interest goes beyond a nonconference game against a new opponent, because this one comes with a Knoxville connection tucked into the Owls roster.
Kennesaw State redshirt freshman kicker Daniel Kinney is a former Bearden High School athlete, giving the trip to Knoxville a little extra meaning. Kinney has already seen game action for the Owls and has handled both field goals and extra points, so even in a game that figures to draw attention for Tennessees side, there is at least one local name worth keeping an eye on once the ball gets kicked. [Read more 🡒]
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Construction is expected to begin in 2026, with completion projected for 2028-2029, giving fans plenty of time to debate what the area around the stadium will look like once the dust settles. For a place so tied to game days and tradition, the scale of the change is hard to ignore, and the questions around how the new district will fit alongside the existing atmosphere are likely to linger well beyond the announcement. [Read more 🡒]
Which Former Vol Delivered Week 1s Biggest NFL Moment
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There was more than one Volunteer footprint across the league, too, as other Tennessee alumni made their debuts or got on the field in season openers. The broader takeaway for Tennessee fans is familiar and encouraging: the programs recent veterans are not just hanging around NFL rosters, they are showing up in roles that matter. Even with one headline moment stealing the spotlight, Week 1 offered a fuller snapshot of how many former Vols are carving out real jobs on Sundays. [Read more 🡒]