And here we go. Now that the 42-9 win over Kennesaw State is in the rearview mirror, Tennessee immediately will shift its focus to No. 1 Texas. Come next weekend , the Longhorns and Arch Manning will make the trip to Knoxville favored by 5.5 points, with the opening line just dropping via the FanDuel Sportsbook.
It's not a surprise that Tennessee is an underdog here, but the players and head man Josh Heupel are not going to care about that. This is going to be a dogfight, with Tennessee knowing exactly what needs to get done to pull off a stunning win. It all starts on defense and trying to slow down Manning, Cam Coleman and others.
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change
College GameDay heading to Tennessee vs. Texas makes Week 4 even more special
Both teams enter this game 3-0 to start the year, though no one can argue with the fact that Texas has been a bit more tested. The Week 2 win over Ohio State is still being talked about, as the Longhorns put together a wild fourth-quarter comeback.
That's nothing for Brandon, DeSean Bishop (assuming he's healthy), Arion Carter and the other Tennessee playmakers to worry about. This group will be more focused on playing its best ball on both sides, while also giving everyone in the stands something to smile about. Oh, and this matchup has been made even more intriguing with College GameDay headed to town. Boom.
NEW: College GameDay is headed to Knoxville this weekend for Tennessee vs. Texas, @PeteNakos reports📍https://t.co/QvxNczUf7J pic.twitter.com/FzqM5ubwnT
— On3 (@On3) September 20, 2026
The energy around campus is going to be WILD for the next week and that's how it's supposed to be when the top team in the country pays a visit. It also helps that the Vols are undefeated early on this campaign and ranked in the Top 15.
An upset win over the Longhorns could propel Tennessee into the Top 10 and have people dreaming of a trip to the College Football Playoff for the second time in three years. That's not going to be easy, as Texas is the top-ranked team in the nation for a reason - the Austin side is pretty damn good.
Still, there's no reason to believe Texas is going to have a cake walk in this SEC opener for both teams. It will be on Brandon to play beyond his years and Jim Knowles is going to have to earn his paycheck in coming up with a defensive game plan to slow down Manning and the aerial attack as a whole.
The ground game for Texas too is fierce, which will give Tennessee another problem to worry about. With all of that said, the boxing gloves will come on at kickoff for this heavyweight bout and the rest of the world is going to be watching closely. The Vols will have an incredible opportunity to show that they're ready to take the next step and prove that whenever a top team makes the trip to Neyland, Tennessee will be ready to land some jabs early and often. Next Saturday can't get here soon enough.
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