Photos: Tennessee Athletics
Football is back in Neyland on a Saturday night and the number on the board is the first thing that jumped out. DraftKings has Tennessee laying 35. That is a big number on paper. It is not a big enough number for what I think this roster is about to do to a team that just got run on at home by Georgia State.
I get why the line sits there. People look at a Conference USA champion from last year and assume there is still some fight left. Most of that champion is gone. The quarterback who won the league left. The leading receiver left. The top of the backfield left. What walked into Knoxville is a rebuilt Group of Five team with a few individuals who can win a snap and a defense that already showed you what happens when a real rushing attack lines up across from it.
Tennessee is in a different place than it was on opening night. Furman week still had that first start feeling. New quarterback. New defense. Everybody waiting to see if the thing actually worked. Two games in, you have an answer on the important parts. Faizon Brandon has not turned it over. The running game has been the hammer. The defense has tackled better than last year even when the flags piled up. The roster is settled enough that this does not have to be a feel out game.
That is why I think Heupel opens it up.
Texas is next. You do not want the first time this freshman really slings it to be against the number one team in the country. You want to see the deep shot. You want to see Matthews stacked and still getting behind people. You want to see if Brandon can live in the middle of the field when the playbook is not just hand it off and play safe. Kennesaw cannot match this speed for a full series. If Heupel decides tonight is the night to find out what this offense looks like when it is allowed to be loud, the Owls are not built to survive that.
I do not believe they can stop this group. Not the run. Not the play action that comes off the run. Not the second wave when the ones start rotating out. Georgia State put 230 on the ground against them in their own building. Tennessee is rushing for over 300 a game. That is not a fair fight in the trenches, and it does not get fairer when the Vols start throwing off play action.
The other piece is the second unit. When George MacIntyre comes in I do not expect this thing to stall. He needs the reps. Heupel has shown he will keep his foot down against teams that cannot match him. Furman found that out. Lesser teams have found that out for years here. If Brandon has the night I think he has, MacIntyre coming in is not a mercy possession. It is more of the same with a different number under center while Kennesaw is already gassed.
The only way this stays close to the number is if Tennessee beats itself. Flags. A short field. A scramble from Collins that turns into a cheap score. Those are the only paths I see for the Owls to hang around long enough to cover. Even then I do not think it holds for four quarters in this building.
This is the last tune up before the season changes temperature. Play it like a tune up that still has a job. See what Brandon can do when they let him. Keep the backs rolling. Let MacIntyre get live work with a lead. Do not donate anything on special teams or after the whistle.
The line is 35. I do not think that is near enough.
Tennessee 55, Kennesaw State 10. Vols cover.