Tennessee spent Week 3 doing what good teams are supposed to do: take care of business, stay out of trouble and let the chaos around the SEC work in its favor.
The Vols moved to 3-0 with a 42-9 win over Kennesaw State on Saturday night at Neyland Stadium, finishing off the non-conference portion of the schedule with a comfortable, controlled performance. The result, paired with everything else happening around the league, bumped Tennessee up one spot to No. 6 in the latest 247Sports SEC poll.
There was no drama in Knoxville, and that was the point. Tennessee handled the defending Conference USA champions behind a strong showing from sophomore running back Daune Morris, who ran for a career-best 116 yards on 14 carries and scored a touchdown from more than 40 yards out for the second straight week. Freshman quarterback Faizon Brandon also made his mark, hitting Braylon Staley for an early touchdown before adding a rushing score of his own as the Vols pulled away in the third quarter.
The defense did its part, too. Kennesaw State managed a field goal on its opening possession, but Tennessee didn’t allow the Owls to get back past midfield until well into the third quarter.
That steady win was enough to push Tennessee ahead in the conference pecking order, but the top of the poll stayed crowded. Texas held onto No. 1, though the Longhorns drew one first-place vote away from Georgia after needing some work to beat UTSA. Texas finished with eight first-place votes, while Georgia picked up seven after rolling Arkansas in its first Power 4 game of the season.
The biggest jump among the contenders came from Florida and Kentucky.
Florida climbed three spots to No. 7 after a strong start to the Jon Sumrall Era turned into a convincing SEC-opening win at Auburn. The Gators grabbed an interception on the third play of the game and turned it into points, then leaned on an offense that proved too much for the Tigers.
Kentucky also made a big move, rising to No. 12 after shocking Texas A&M in College Station. The Wildcats responded to a rough second half against Alabama by scoring 28 straight points after an Aggie touchdown and never gave the lead back. For new coach Will Stein, it was a top-10 road win in just his third game.
The week was less kind to several others near the top. Texas A&M fell three spots to No. 8 after the loss to Kentucky, a game that slipped away in the third quarter when the Wildcats opened with a touchdown drive, forced a three-and-out, scored again and later turned a fourth-down stop into another short-field touchdown. The Aggies have only two wins in their past five games since last season’s 11-0 start.
LSU dropped two places to No. 5 after losing at Ole Miss in Lane Kiffin’s return to the campus he left last year. Ole Miss jumped out to a 24-7 lead, LSU fought back to tie it in the fourth quarter, and then the Rebels answered with a go-ahead drive before sealing it with a tip-drill interception in the end zone.
Oklahoma slid two spots to No. 11 after a sluggish 14-6 win over New Mexico, while South Carolina also dropped two places to No. 14 after its SEC opener got away from it against Mississippi State. The Gamecocks built a 16-0 lead at home, but the Bulldogs ripped off a 41-7 run and emptied Williams-Brice Stadium in the fourth quarter.
The full Week 3 247Sports SEC poll reads Texas, Georgia, Ole Miss, Alabama, LSU, Tennessee, Florida, Texas A&M, Missouri, Mississippi State, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Auburn, South Carolina, Vanderbilt and Arkansas.
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 🡒]