Tennessee’s loaded 2026 football schedule now has some important dates to remember. The University announced a few game designations for the upcoming season, which includes a ‘Checker Neyland’ date for the highly anticipated matchup with Texas.
This will be the first ever meeting between Tennessee and Texas that didn’t occur in the Cotton Bowl. The Longhorns are slated to be one of the top teams in the preseason
polls after once again attacking the transfer portal hard. Arch Manning returns, which will put a Manning on the opposing sideline inside of Neyland Stadium, making for an awkward situation for Peyton.
Tennessee announced that the September 19th game against Kennesaw State will serve as the salute to service game.
They have designated Auburn as Champions Weekend, which will mark the return of Alex Golesh to Neyland. Golesh helped lead Heupel’s most successful at Tennessee back in 2022, riding Hendon Hooker and Jalin Hyatt to a No. 1 ranking and the head coaching job at South Florida. This will be Golesh’s first season on The Plains.
Finally, Tennessee will play their homecoming matchup against Kentucky on November 7th. The Wildcats are in a completely new era as well, bringing in Will Stein after things got stale with Mark Stoops. Kenny Minchey is set to take over at quarterback after transferring in from Notre Dame.
Tennessee will open on September 5th with Furman at home, followed by a true road game at Georgia Tech on September 12th.
