Tennessee’s trip to Atlanta gave the Vols exactly what a first road game should: a real look at where this team stands when things get messy.
Josh Heupel’s team walked out of Bobby Dodd Stadium with a 45-24 win over Georgia Tech to move to 2-0, but it wasn’t clean. It wasn’t polished. And for long stretches, it was the kind of game that exposed both the upside and the rough edges.
Freshman quarterback Faizon Brandon was at the center of it. After getting his first action in the opener against Furman, this was a far tougher test against a Power Four opponent on the road.
Brandon finished 10-for-21 for 148 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions, and he added 22 rushing yards. There were bright spots, too.
He connected with Radarious Jackson on a third-down splash play to extend a drive, then later dropped a touchdown to Braylon Staley in the end zone.
Still, Tennessee clearly has more it needs from him. Brandon made enough plays to keep the offense moving, but the overall performance was uneven, and the play-calling seemed designed to keep him protected rather than push the ball aggressively.
Even his legs were used less than expected. Against Furman, he had shown more as a runner, but most of his production here came on scrambles.
Designed quarterback runs would seem to be a useful part of the package going forward.
The real swing of the night came in the middle of the game, where Tennessee took control. Georgia Tech grabbed a 10-7 lead after one quarter, helped by a blocked punt returned for a touchdown and a field goal after the defense held firm in the red zone.
From there, though, the Vols stacked 24 straight points between the second quarter and the start of the third. That included 17 unanswered in the second quarter before halftime, and when Tennessee got the ball to open the third, DeSean Bishop ripped through the drive to push the lead to three scores.
That should have been the moment Tennessee slammed the door.
Instead, the Vols let Georgia Tech hang around.
Once Tennessee got up 21, the approach shifted. The defense softened up to avoid giving up the deep ball, and the offense leaned on the run game to chew clock.
That conservative stretch gave Georgia Tech life. The Yellow Jackets answered with a 9-play, 75-yard touchdown drive, then forced Tennessee to punt after the Vols’ next possession stalled.
Georgia Tech had a shot to turn it into a one-score game in the third quarter, getting inside Tennessee’s 10-yard line before the defense held. Jeremiah Telander got home for a sack, and two straight strong pass defenses forced a turnover on downs.
Tennessee then went back into clock-draining mode, and the drive nearly unraveled before a pair of fortunate third-down breaks and then penalties sent the ball back to Georgia Tech with 6:26 left and Tennessee up 14. Mariyon Dye and Jordan Norman answered with back-to-back sacks to shut that down for good.
Bishop was the steadying force throughout all of it. He carried 20 times for 147 yards and two touchdowns, including the one that effectively sealed the win in the fourth quarter. Even with Georgia Tech loading the box and daring Tennessee to keep running, Bishop kept finding room and powering through for big gains.
The sloppiness was hard to miss. Tennessee was flagged 14 times for 142 yards, while Georgia Tech had just five penalties for 46 yards.
That kind of self-inflicted damage is ugly anywhere, but especially in a game where the crowd impact was limited. Vol fans filled roughly half the stadium, so this wasn’t some impossible road environment.
Tennessee simply beat itself too often.
The penalties weren’t the only issue. The offensive line had stretches where it lost assignments or got knocked backward before plays could even develop. And Jackson Ross, usually so reliable, made a costly mistake on a punt that turned into the blocked kick returned for a touchdown.
Tennessee got the win. It also got a blunt reminder that there’s still plenty to clean up.
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 🡒]
Josh Heupel Sent Tennessee Fans A Message After Atlanta Takeover
Tennessee walked into Atlanta and found a familiar feel waiting for it, with a heavy orange presence in the stands helping turn a road game into something closer to a showcase. The Volunteers handled Georgia Tech 45-24, and Josh Heupel made a point of acknowledging the fan support afterward, a nod to the kind of traveling base that can change the tone of an early-season game.
On the field, the Vols had plenty to build on as well. Freshman quarterback Faizon Brandon made his second career start and threw two touchdown passes, while DeSean Bishop and DeJuan Lane helped keep the offense moving and the game in Tennessees control. For a team trying to keep momentum rolling, the combination of on-field production and a packed contingent of supporters was about as clean a start as Heupel could have wanted. [Read more 🡒]