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The 130th edition of Tennessee (#20 AP/18 Coaches, 1-0, 0-0 SEC) football got off to a hot start Saturday, beating Furman 56-9. The Vols racked up 638 yards of total offense (329 passing/309 rushing) while QB Faizon Brandon went 13/17 for 226 yards and 3 TDs (0 INT). Brandon also added 68 yards on 10 carries and another 2 TDs. Oh, and the defense created a havoc play on every other down, led by Xavier Gilliam’s three sacks and five TFLs. Not bad.
Meanwhile Georgia Tech (NR, 0-1, 0-0 ACC) did not get the start they wanted in 2026, losing to Colorado 14-13 when a potential game-winning kick was blocked by current Buffalo/former Vol Boo Carter.
Previously on Vols vs. Jackets
Tennessee beat Georgia Tech 42-41 in double overtime on Sept. 4, 2017. It would be the lone highlight of Butch Jones’ final year as UT head coach, and you’re forgiven if you’ve suppressed the memory that this was the game where Butch debuted the turnover trash can.
Ignoring the Butch Jones shenanigans (which is just generally good life advice), this truly is a storied and largely forgotten rivalry. UT and Tech played on a yearly home-and-home basis in the early 1900s and again from the early 40s through the late 80s, even after the Yellow Jackets left the SEC in 1963.
The game will be played “on The Flats” as Tech folks say, at Bobby Dodd Stadium (the oldest FBS stadium in the country, dating back to 1905) for the first time since 1986 (a 13-14 Tennessee loss when the Vols missed a last-minute FG on a soggy field). Bobby Dodd, of course, was an all-American QB for General Neyland, playing at UT from 1928-1930. Dodd became a hall-of-famer for his career as a Vol in 1959, and later was inducted for his coaching career at Tech, going 165-64-8 from 1945-66.
Tennessee leads the series 25-17-2, but are just 11-12 in games played in Atlanta.
Personnel
It’s hard to tell what Tech is actually planning to do with their offense Saturday. I appreciate the fact the Jackets still publish a depth chart. But when the depth chart lists three sets of starting RBs, two sets of starting TEs, and three sets of starting WRs, it’s hard to take seriously (although I’d love to see them try and run the rare 32 personnel trips formation). The GT offense found very little success against Colorado last week. Although first-year starting QB Alberto Mendoza, younger brother of Fernando, completed 17/23 passes for 237 yards and no INTs, he also didn’t find the endzone. There’s not a lot of experience on the Georgia Tech offense, but they do have high hopes for DB turned WR Dalen Penson and Michigan transfer RB Justice Haynes. Running back is a particularly important piece for the Ramblin’ Wreck as they have rushed for 200+ yards in 22 of their last 37 wins, but gained just 51 yards on the ground in the loss to Colorado. Another bellwether stat for Tech has been sacks: GT has allowed just nine sacks in each of the last two seasons, but allowed three to the Buffs last week. With the offensive line being perhaps Tech’s most experienced group, they’re going to need to produce at a much higher level for the Jackets to compete this week.
While much of the talk surrounding Tennessee this week has focused on Faizon Brandon’s debut and Mike Matthews’ breakout, it’s the defense that had me hyped on Saturday. Questions about whether or not the defense could pressure the QB were answered. Xavier Gilliam was a beast. Jeremiah Telander looked like a weapon playing at the line. And yes, “it’s Furman”, but the operation of the defense looked cleaner than expected. And the Vols get Arion Carter back this week. After pledging to donate $427 (the amount of the plane ticket Carter was suspended over) to his mother’s nonprofit charity, Carter has been named to the Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year Award watchlist.
Tech’s defense doesn’t have much in the way of experience, but there are some highly talented players there. DE Noah Carter, CB Jaylen Mbakwe, and S Tae Harris are some of the roster’s highlights. Mbakwe had a PBU, Carter had a TFL, and Carter had nine tackles in the Colorado game. It’s hard to fault the Tech defense for the loss last week too, as they held Colorado to just 14 points.
Of course Tennessee’s offense was under a ton of scrutiny with Faizon Brandon’s debut game. The true freshman QB rose to the occasion, and other than maybe a couple of throws, didn’t really look like a freshman at all. Brandon fits the bill physically, and his willingness to run is going to be the difference in a game or two this year.
JAR Five Factor Preview/Prediction
After just one game the stats for a full Five Factor breakdown don’t really work, but JAR does favor Tennessee by a large margin, 41-5. I will actually be angry if Tech somehow scores exactly 5.
This is a game that looked a lot scarier before we saw either team play. While it now looks like one that the Vols should win handily, I still have a theory that Georgia Tech spent a hefty portion of their offseason prepping for UT. The Yellow Jackets have for the last several years moved a game to Mercedes-Benz Stadium knowing that the visiting team will buy a huge portion of tickets. Had Tech decided to do that this year, the Tennessee game would be the most likely candidate. But they didn’t. Rather than forfeit home field advantage to sell more tickets, they chose to make UT play in the little band box called Bobby Dodd, looking for a statement win. Brent Key has come close against UGA the past couple of years. If they could get Tennessee against the ropes on The Flats, they could finally get Key his signature victory against a big-name SEC foe.
But after the way both teams played in their openers, Key and the Yellow Jackets have an uphill battle. Tickets were still plentiful earlier this week, and after seeing that fact promoted on several Vol online outlets, I expect there will be a hefty orange presence in downtown Atlanta Saturday night. Key’s teams have been known for their toughness, so I don’t expect them to roll over. But I do expect Tennessee to come back to Knoxville with a big road win. Tennessee 45, Georgia Tech 10.