The kickoff time and broadcast details are set for Tennessee football’s SEC opener against Texas at Neyland Stadium. The Vols and Longhorns will kick off at noon ET on Saturday, Sept. 26. Either ABC or ESPN will broadcast the game.
The week four matchup is also Tennessee football’s annual Checker Neyland game. It will also be the SEC opener for both the Vols and Longhorns. Tennessee faces Furman, Georgia Tech and Kennesaw State in its first three games while Texas faces Texas State, Ohio State and UTSA in its first three games.
Texas is a preseason darling, projecting as a top five team nationally after pairing a stellar portal class with a strong returning core anchored by redshirt junior quarterback Arch Manning.
DraftKings released its offseason game line last week with Texas opening as 7-point road favorites at Tennessee. It will be the fourth ever meeting between the two teams with Texas owning a 2-1 all-time advantage in the series.
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It’s a year of transition for Josh Heupel and Tennessee football. The Vols return seven of 11 starters from a productive offense a season ago. However, there’s major questions at quarterback where true freshman Faizon Brandon and redshirt freshman George MacIntyre are battling for the starting job.
Defensively, Tennessee has undergone a major overhaul after a poor showing a season ago. Heupel fired defensive coordinator Tim Banks and most of his defensive staff, hiring Penn State’s Jim Knowles and three other new defensive assistants.
The Vols overhauled much of the defensive roster. With a solid returning and incoming linebacker core as well as a revamped secondary, Tennessee could be sneakily good in the back seven. But the defensive line remains a major question mark, especially with incoming edge rusher Chaz Coleman’s status uncertain.
A handful of kickoff times are set for Tennessee’s 2026 season. The Vols will play night games against Georgia Tech, Kennesaw State, Kentucky and Vanderbilt and afternoon games against both Furman and South Carolina. The exact kickoff times are not set for the rest of Tennessee’s schedule.
