Tennessee’s fast start has the Vols climbing again.
After a 45-24 win over Georgia Tech on Saturday night in Atlanta, Tennessee moved from No. 18 to No. 15 in Sunday’s AP Top 25. The Vols also checked in at No. 14 in the Coaches Poll.
Tennessee opened the year at No. 20, then went into the Georgia Tech game ranked No. 18.
The win pushed Tennessee to 2-0, and the formula looked familiar: the run game did the heavy lifting. The Vols piled up nearly 300 yards on the ground, a familiar calling card for Josh Heupel’s teams.
Tennessee now sits as the seventh-highest SEC team in the AP rankings. The league’s top spots belong to No.
1 Texas, No. 2 Georgia, No.
7 LSU, No. 8 Ole Miss, No.
9 Texas A&M and No. 10 Alabama.
The Vols also moved ahead of Oklahoma, which fell to No. 24 after losing to unranked Michigan. Missouri is the last SEC team in the Top 25 at No.
Through two games, Tennessee has outscored its opponents 101-33 with wins over Furman and Georgia Tech. The next stop is Kennesaw State next Saturday, and then the schedule turns to SEC play on Sept. 26 with a matchup against current No. Texas.
“You look around the country and understand that every week it’s its own entity, it’s its own week,” Tennessee HC Josh Heupel said about the Vols’ win at Georgia Tech. “Proud of our team to come here, get a win, play the way that we needed to, ultimately, to end up on the right side of the scoreboard.
Obviously, there’s a bunch of things to clean up. Special teams early.
Offensively, some of the penalties that changed the way the game was played. Defensively, a lot of really solid things.
And then second half, not up to the standard. Certainly in the fourth quarter, penalties, just not very good.
And that’s multiple phases of the game. So, disappointed in that.
But I’ve also learned and understand that you better appreciate every (win) too.”
In Other News...
Josh Heupel Is Closing In On Another Tennessee Coaching Milestone
Josh Heupel keeps stacking up the kind of wins that matter in Knoxville history, and his latest milestone pushed him past Doug Dickey for sixth on Tennessees all-time coaching list. Since taking over in 2021, Heupel has built a 47-20 record and continued to give the Volunteers the kind of steady success that has made his tenure one of the more productive stretches in the programs modern era.
The next landmark is within reach, too, with Bowden Wyatt sitting just ahead of him in fifth place. Heupels perfect mark against opponents with losing records has helped Tennessee stay on pace, and with three more wins this season he could climb again on a list that still carries plenty of weight around the program. [Read more 🡒]
Faizon Brandon Passed Tennessees First Road Test Now Comes The Real Challenge
Freshman quarterback Faizon Brandon handled his first road start with the kind of calm Tennessee could reasonably ask for, helping the Volunteers leave Georgia Tech with a 45-24 victory. Brandon completed 10 of 21 passes for 148 yards and two touchdowns, added 22 rushing yards and, most importantly for a young quarterback in a tough setting, kept the game under control without turning the ball over.
Now the test gets more interesting. Brandon has already shown he can navigate a hostile environment and make enough plays to back up the rest of Tennessee's talent, but the next stretch will ask for more than poise and caution. For a quarterback still settling into the job, the challenge is no longer simply surviving a road game. It's doing it again, with teams starting to adjust. [Read more 🡒]
Tennessees First Road Win Still Left Vols Fans With One Concern
Tennessee left Bobby Dodd Stadium with its first road win of the season and a 45-24 result that gave the Vols a 2-0 start, but the box score still told a story of a team easing into its identity. Freshman quarterback Faizon Brandon helped settle things early enough, and Tennessee spent much of the middle stretch of the game in control while both sides of the ball found a groove away from home.
Even so, the finish left a familiar unease for fans who watched Georgia Tech keep pressing late. Tennessee backed off into a more conservative approach as the Yellow Jackets tried to chip away at the margin, and for a moment it felt like the game might get tighter than it had any business being. The Vols still handled the comeback push, but the way the closing minutes unfolded offered a reminder that there is still a little polishing left to do. [Read more 🡒]