The eyes of college football will be on Knoxville this Saturday when Tennessee hosts Texas in a top-15 showdown with undefeated records on the line. No.
14 Tennessee and No. 1 Texas meet at Neyland Stadium, and the game will be the centerpiece of ABC’s noon ET window.
Chris Fowler will handle play-by-play, Kirk Herbstreit will provide analysis, and Holly Rowe will work the sideline.
Here’s the full broadcast setup for the matchup:
No. 14 Tennessee (3-0) vs.
No. 1 Texas (3-0)
Location: Knoxville, Tennessee (Neyland Stadium)
Date: Saturday, September 26, 2026
Kickoff: Noon ET
TV: ABC
Announcers: Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit, Holly Rowe
On the radio side, Tennessee fans can listen locally on WIVK-FM 107.7 and WNFML-FM 99.1. The game will also be available on SiriusXM channel 84 and on the SiriusXM app on channel 984, with streaming through UTsports.com and the Tennessee Athletics app. Mike Keith will do play-by-play, Jayson Swain will be the analyst, and Brent Hubbs will serve as sideline reporter.
FanDuel listed Tennessee as a 3.5-point underdog Monday morning. The Longhorns were priced at -178 on the moneyline, while the Vols sat at +150. The over/under is 55.5 points.
Texas enters as the nation’s No. 1 team after its win over Ohio State two weeks ago, but it still isn’t the favorite to win the national title. The Buckeyes lead that race at +500, with Texas right behind at +550. Tennessee is at +3500, which ranks 14th nationally.
In the SEC title picture, Georgia remains the favorite at +220, narrowly ahead of Texas at +240. Tennessee checks in at +1400, giving the Vols the seventh-best odds in the conference.
In Other News...
Texas Coach Just Added More Fuel To Neyland Before Tennessee Showdown
Steve Sarkisian did the Volunteers a favor without meaning to, giving Neyland Stadium another shot of energy before Texas comes to Knoxville. The Longhorns coach called it the loudest stadium in the country ahead of the matchup, and that kind of praise only adds to the atmosphere around a game already carrying plenty of weight, with No. 1 Texas visiting No. 14 Tennessee in the annual Checker Neyland showcase.
The setting figures to be huge even by Tennessee standards, with more than 100,000 seats packed into a noon ET kickoff on ABC and a College GameDay spotlight attached. For the Vols, it is the kind of moment that can turn a September game into a full-scale event, and Sarkisian's comments only sharpen the sense that Texas knows exactly what it is walking into. [Read more 🡒]
Peyton Manning Puts Texas-Tennessee GameDay In An Awkward Spot
ESPN is bringing College GameDay to Knoxville ahead of the Sept. 26 matchup between Texas and Tennessee, setting up one of the more intriguing pregame stages of the early season. The backdrop is already loaded for Volunteers fans, with Tennessee hosting a marquee nonconference game and national attention set to descend on campus before kickoff.
The wrinkle is Peyton Manning. The former Tennessee quarterback has made it clear he would back his nephew, Texas quarterback Arch Manning, over his alma mater if asked to choose, and ESPN still has not announced its guest picker. That has left local observers wondering whether Manning would even be the fit for the role, giving GameDay an awkward little subplot before the show has a chance to get rolling. [Read more 🡒]
Peyton Manning Just Gave Vols Fans A Brutal Dilemma
Peyton Manning has always been one of Tennessees most beloved figures, and he made it clear this week that his affection for his alma mater has not changed. Even so, when the Vols meet Texas in a high-stakes SEC matchup, Manning said his family tie pulls him in another direction, since his nephew Arch is on the other sideline. It is the kind of rooting interest that feels impossible for Tennessee fans to hear from one of their own, even with the loyalty to Knoxville still intact.
The game carries plenty of weight on its own, with both teams undefeated and ranked inside the Top 15, but Mannings stance adds another layer to the buildup. It also complicates the usual pregame pageantry around College GameDay, where Manning would have been an obvious draw as the guest picker. Instead, his allegiance to family appears to leave that spot out of play, turning a marquee Saturday into a small but painful reminder of how messy college football can get when bloodlines and school pride collide. [Read more 🡒]