The easy part is over for Tennessee. After a runaway win over Furman, the Vols are walking into a much different kind of test Saturday night at Georgia Tech, and the biggest question is how true freshman quarterback Faizon Brandon handles his first road start.
Brandon wasted no time making noise in his first FBS start. The SEC Freshman of the Week threw for 226 yards and three touchdowns while adding 68 rushing yards and two more scores in Tennessee’s 56-9 win. That performance put him in some rare company: he became the first SEC player to throw for three touchdowns and run for two touchdowns in his first FBS start since Cam Newton did it in 2010.
There were other bright spots for the Vols, too. Backup George MacIntyre looked sharp in limited work, finishing 5-for-7 with a touchdown pass.
Mike Matthews delivered the kind of breakout day Tennessee fans want to see from a top target, hauling in four passes for 132 yards and two touchdowns. And the offense showed it could spread the ball around, with 11 different Vols catching at least one pass.
The ground game was just as loud. DeSean Bishop led Tennessee with 97 rushing yards, and as a team the Vols piled up 329 yards on the ground against Furman. That kind of balance is exactly what makes this offense dangerous when it’s clicking.
Defensively, Tennessee got a debut worth remembering from Xavier Gilliam. The Penn State transfer led the team with six tackles, three sacks and five tackles for loss. The Vols also get linebacker Arion Carter back after he served his one-game NCAA suspension for accepting a $427 flight from an agent.
Georgia Tech, meanwhile, comes in trying to shake off a frustrating start. The Yellow Jackets dropped a 14-13 decision to Colorado last Thursday, and they had a shot at the end before former Vol Boo Carter blocked a potential game-winning field goal.
In his Georgia Tech debut, quarterback Alberto Mendoza - brother of 2025 Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza - completed 17 of 23 passes for 237 yards. Jordan Allen was his favorite target, finishing with eight catches for 113 yards. But the numbers tell a tougher story for the Jackets overall: they managed just 288 total yards, and Justice Haynes led the rushing attack with only 64 yards.
Georgia Tech does have some defenders who can make life uncomfortable. Kyle Efford led the team with 13 tackles against Colorado, and he was one of three Yellow Jackets to finish with at least 10 stops.
Brent Key didn’t hide his disappointment after the opener, calling his team “poorly prepared, poorly coached, poorly disciplined, soft football team.” Tennessee now gets the chance to see whether Georgia Tech responds.
There’s also a little something unusual about this matchup. It’s a Power 4 home-and-home game being played on campus instead of at one of the neutral sites that have become so common, from Dublin to Green Bay to Charlotte. Saturday’s game is in Atlanta, a relatively easy trip from Knoxville, so Bobby Dodd Stadium should have plenty of orange in the stands.
For Tennessee, the trip adds a layer of difficulty the Furman game simply didn’t have. Brandon is making his first road start, and even if Atlanta isn’t Athens, it’s still a true freshman taking snaps away from home.
That’s the real pivot point here: the Vols already know Brandon can light up a scoreboard. Now they’re about to find out how he handles the road.
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The race around Gibbs is a good reminder that early commitments can get complicated fast when the nations biggest programs start applying pressure. Tennessee now finds itself in a battle that also includes Notre Dame, Auburn, Ohio State and Alabama, and the Volunteers will have to make a strong impression if they want any real shot at pulling the No. 302 overall prospect in the 2028 class away from his current pledge. [Read more 🡒]