First, for the record, some preemptive caution before flying all the way off the handle based on two resounding Tennessee football victories: There’s still much we can’t yet know about this season that has a long way to go and a lot of possible adversity (and penalty yards) waiting out there.
What can be gleaned thus far about these Vols, though, looks encouraging.
It’s getting more encouraging, too, each time we watch Faizon Brandon play. As much as there is to like about Tennessee’s poised freshman quarterback, there’s even more to like about a Vols offense that isn’t having to ask too much of Brandon because of how effectively it’s running the ball.
When the Vols underscored their punishing 45-24 win at Georgia Tech on Sept. 12 with a late 47-yard
touchdown run, it brought the team’s rushing total to 299 yards. DeSean Bishop ran for 147 on 20 carries (7.4 average). Daune Morris had 98 on 10 attempts (yup, that’s 9.8), while Brandon himself scrambled around for 22 yards, picking spots nicely for an offense that was 8-for-14 on third down.
You do that all game, and Brandon’s modest 10-for-21 passing performance (with two TDs) becomes more than sufficient to throttle a respectable opponent in spite of other, general concerns (like your team committing 14 penalties and your defense easing up after halftime).
The defense, though, does look salty under new coordinator Jim Knowles. If coach Josh Heupel could get the quarterback right (and it looks like he has with Brandon), this was always set up to be a team capable of at least being in the College Football Playoff discussion.
Now, after two games, the ceiling is already a few notches higher for Heupel’s Vols.
Enjoy the feeling, Tennessee fans.
It is the reward for scheduling – and thriving – in a risky early test like this one at Georgia Tech.
I’d imagine, right about the time Tennessee’s Jackson Ross unsuccessfully attempted to punt a football through a Georgia Tech player, a thought had to be percolating through Vol Nation:
Who thought this field trip to downtown Atlanta was a good idea?
The Vols, and their freshman quarterback, didn’t need this kind of stress. Not on a Saturday in which the smartest front-runners had been the ones like Indiana. The champs sure pushed themselves by beating Howard 55-0. You also had Georgia scoring 70 on Western Kentucky, Notre Dame beating Rice 52-0, and two days ago, Miami won a 77-7 squeaker over Florida A&M.
The dummies were Oregon, which went to Stillwater for some reason and lost to Oklahoma State, or Oklahoma. The Sooners traveled to Ann Arbor and got punched in the teeth by Michigan team in an especially bad mood after hearing about how a thumb was on the scale for it to beat Western Michigan the previous week.
A similar circumstance awaited Tennessee in Atlanta. Georgia Tech isn't a dominant program, but it has long been a dangerous one. Under an underrated coach, Brent Key, the Yellow Jackets have become known for pulling off upsets in games exactly like this – while also suffering surprising defeats exactly like Week 1 against Colorado.
Couldn’t you see Key rallying the locker room for a classic rebound on national television against an SEC team that, while talented, has some real questions? Like that freshman quarterback and a newly installed defense?
Instead, you had Georgia Tech quarterback Alberto Mendoza, who should not be confused with Heisman Trophy-winning older brother Fernando, throwing two interceptions before his offense scored its first touchdown. That was in the third quarter, and by then, the Jackets trailed 31-10 and were out the verge of getting blown out at home despite being gifted an early lead via a special teams touchdown.
This Tennessee victory looked, well, easy.
And I didn’t expect it to be easy for Tennessee at Georgia Tech.
If Tennessee showed up in Atlanta feeling good, it exited feeling even better about itself. With Texas headed to Neyland Stadium in two weeks, that's certainly not a bad thing.
Reach Tennessean sports columnist Gentry Estes at gestes@tennessean.com and hang out with him on Bluesky @gentryestes.bsky.social
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Faizon Brandon is already raising the ceiling for Tennessee football in 2026 | Estes
