ESPN’s College GameDay is heading back to Knoxville for one of the biggest early-season showdowns on the college football calendar.
According to a report from On3, the network’s Saturday morning staple will be on hand for next Saturday’s Week 4 matchup between No. 15 Tennessee and No.
1 Texas. It will be the first College GameDay appearance in Knoxville since last season’s Week 3 game in Georgia, a loss for the Vols in overtime.
The game is set for Noon ET on Saturday, Sept. 26, and it will double as Tennessee’s Checker Neyland game for the season.
This will be the fourth time College GameDay has visited Knoxville during the Josh Heupel era. Tennessee hosted the show twice in 2022, for games against Florida and Alabama, and once in 2025 against Georgia.
The meeting with Texas also brings a rare piece of history back into play. It will be the first game between the Volunteers and Longhorns since 1969, and the two programs have faced each other only three times overall, with all three matchups coming in Cotton Bowl games before 1970.
There’s another layer to this one, too: Arch Manning is bringing a Manning back to Neyland Stadium for the first time since Peyton’s last game. Manning has Texas sitting at 4-0 after a win over Ohio State earlier this season.
Tennessee enters the matchup after a 42-9 win over Kennesaw State on Saturday night. Texas answered with a 30-6 victory over UTSA over the weekend.
Both teams are unbeaten heading into the SEC-opening game. As of Saturday night, Tennessee was a 4.5-point underdog on DraftKings, though that number could still shift during the week.
In Other News...
Tennessee Suddenly Has A Backfield Concern At The Worst Time
DeSean Bishops status is suddenly worth watching in Knoxville after the running back went down with a hip injury in the first half against Kennesaw State, then tried to gut it out again in the third quarter before leaving for good because of the pain. Tennessee still found ways to stay on schedule with Daune Morris handling additional carries and punching in a touchdown, but the game also made it clear how much the backfield depends on Bishops availability when the Volunteers want to stay balanced.
Now the attention shifts to a much bigger test against Texas, where every injury on the depth chart feels a little more expensive. Bishops ability to get back on the field, and how effective he can be if he does, will be one of the quieter but more important storylines for Tennessee as it starts preparing for a matchup that already looked demanding before the hip became an issue. [Read more 🡒]
Tennessee Fans Can't Assume The Usual Checker Neyland Look Vs Texas
Tennessee fans heading to Neyland Stadium for the Sept. 26 showdown with Texas will need to pay a little closer attention than usual before they pack their game-day gear. The familiar orange-and-white Checker Neyland pattern is getting flipped for this one, so the standard assumptions about which sections wear which color will not apply. Anyone planning to take part is being told to check their assigned color on CheckerNeyland.com before kickoff.
The timing only raises the profile of the matchup, with ESPNs College GameDay set to broadcast from the scene and a spotlight that figures to include Peyton Manning and Arch Manning among the notable attendees. Big games in Knoxville already carry enough pageantry on their own, but this one adds a little extra pressure to get the visual right, too. [Read more 🡒]
Lane Kiffin Still Has Tennessee Fans Doing The Unthinkable
A small but determined contingent of Tennessee fans made the trip to Oxford, Mississippi, on Saturday night, and they had one mission in mind: showing up in Vols gear to pull against Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin. The group of seven paid $600 apiece for their seats and settled in for the Ole Miss-LSU matchup, even with Tennessee playing Kennesaw State at the same time.
By halftime, the scene had become even more layered for Tennessee followers keeping tabs on both games. Ole Miss was ahead of LSU 24-7, while Tennessee was in control against Kennesaw State, 21-3, leaving the Vols faithful with plenty to watch and an old rivalry thread still clearly unresolved. [Read more 🡒]