That's how you start the season off with a bang. With Neyland Stadium packed, the Vols cruised to a dominant 56-9 win over Furman, with Faizon Brandon having a debut to remember. Josh Heupel was all smiles after that one, and understandably so.
And yes, while things were far from perfect, Tennessee barely broke a sweat, and this team will enter the Week 2 tilt vs. Georgia Tech with a ton of confidence. With that, we learned a lot about this team, with the following four things standing out a bit.
4. Tennessee can rely on Faizon Brandon's rushing abilities more than we thought
The phrase quarterback first, runner second is always going to be the case for a Heupel signal-caller. In the win over Furman, though, Brandon seemed to impress a little more with his legs than he did with his cannon for a right arm, particularly in the first half.
I'll raise my hand a bit here, as I thought Brandon was going to break Nico Iamaleava's single-game passing yards record by a freshman. That didn't happen, but Brandon posted five total touchdowns, with two on the ground to go with his three through the air (two came in the second half). He'll need to clean up some minor mistakes throwing the ball, but what he showcased running the pigskin was fantastic to see, with 68 hashes and two scores to his name.
3. Xavier Gilliam is a transfer talent Tennessee fans need to pay attention to
Following defensive coordinator Jim Knowles from Penn State, new Tennessee defensive lineman Xavier Gilliam had a Vols debut to remember, finishing this contest with three sacks. Three! Last season with the Nittany Lions, Gilliam had 0.5 sacks on the entire year.
He went ahead and multiplied that by six in his first game of the 2026 season. When it was announced that Chaz Coleman had left the program, people freaked out, and rightfully so. Early on, though, the pass rush looked strong, with Gilliam being the one to lead the way.
2. Mike Matthews has what it takes to be Tennessee's WR1
You've probably heard Tennessee haters race to call Mike Matthews a 5-star bust. Well, what do they have to say now? Matthews had a career day at Neyland against the Paladins, finishing with 132 yards and two touchdowns. Both his TDs came on long throws from Brandon, which were on the money.
Leading up to the season, there's been plenty of talk about Braylon Staley being the WR1 for this team, and understandably so, as he's a stud as well. At the same time, don't forget about Matthews, who has what it takes to flirt with a 1,000-yard season in '26.
1. Never trust ESPN when they put Tennessee on upset alert against an FCS team
In stunning fashion recently, ESPN's Jordan Rodgers put Tennessee on upset alert going up against Furman. Come on, man! It was silly from Rodgers, but we'll let it slide a bit. Rodgers claimed he was a bit concerned about how Brandon would look in this one, while also bringing up Jim Knowles' new defense.
Nothing to worry about, as the Tennessee offense was spectacular, and Knowles' defense was stout. We'll learn much more about the Vols' potential moving forward, but the first test was passed with flying colors, with Rodgers owing Heupel and his studs an apology.
Add us as a preferred source on Google