dpThe No. 1 Texas Longhorns visit the No. 14 Tennessee Volunteers on Saturday, September 26, 2026 at 4 p.m. ET from Neyland Stadium, Knoxville, TN. Texas is 3-0 after a 30-6 win over UTSA, while Tennessee is 3-0 after a 42-9 win over Kennesaw State.
Tennessee has powered its start on the ground. The Volunteers average 298.7 rushing yards per game with 44 rushing first downs, second most in the nation, and 896 rushing yards, ninth nationally.
Texas brings the stingier scoring defense. The Longhorns allow 12 points per game and 109 rushing yards per game, while Tennessee allows 14 points per game and 151 passing yards per game.
Texas is a 4.5-point favorite over Tennessee.
Below, we’ll give you all the details you need to know about how to watch this game.
How to Watch Texas vs. Tennessee
- When: Saturday, September 26, 2026 at 12:00 p.m. ET
- Where: Neyland Stadium, Knoxville, TN
- TV: ABC
- Stream: ESPN Unlimited – Get the FOX One / ESPN Bundle
Players To Watch
Saturday’s trip to Neyland Stadium will be the toughest environment Manning has faced all season, and it comes after a mixed three-game stretch that has still added up to a 3-0 start for the top-ranked Longhorns. He opened the year with four touchdown passes in a 305-yard night against Texas State, then managed just 195 yards in the comeback win over Ohio State before totaling 164 yards and two touchdowns in a 30-6 win over UTSA. For the season he has 664 yards, seven touchdowns and two interceptions.
This will be Manning’s first road start against a ranked opponent and his first look at Tennessee on a college football field. How he handles the crowd noise and a defense that has forced Texas into some uneven stretches already will tell a lot about where this offense stands against SEC competition.
Texas needs a receiver capable of turning a handful of targets into points, and Coleman answered that call against UTSA after a quiet start to the season, catching four passes for 59 yards and two touchdowns in Week 3. One of those scores came on a vertical route down the field, the kind of play the Longhorns will lean on again if Manning is working through a hostile Knoxville crowd.
Tennessee’s defense has allowed just 14.0 points per game across its first three games, a number built in part on limiting big pass plays. Coleman’s ability to separate down the field gives Texas a way to counter that if the ground game stalls.
Tennessee’s true freshman quarterback has been one of the best stories in the SEC through three weeks, completing 18 of 26 passes for 178 yards and a touchdown while adding 47 rushing yards and another score in a 42-9 win over Kennesaw State. For the season, Brandon has thrown for 552 yards and six touchdowns without an interception, and he carried the nation’s fifth-highest ESPN QBR into that Week 3 start.
Saturday will be his biggest stage yet, a home game against a No. 1 team with a national television audience. How the freshman handles that jump in competition will shape how far this Tennessee season can go.
Controlling tempo on early downs falls to Bishop, who leads Tennessee with 286 rushing yards and four touchdowns this season. He has found the end zone in seven straight games, extending that streak with a short touchdown run against Kennesaw State in Week 3, and his 147-yard, two-touchdown outing against Georgia Tech showed he can carry a heavier workload when needed.
Texas needed a fourth-quarter comeback to escape a 20-point hole against Ohio State two weeks ago, and a Volunteers offense that leans on Bishop to shorten the game and keep Brandon out of tough spots will test whether that defense has corrected its slow starts.
Texas vs. Tennessee Odds
Learn more about the Texas Longhorns vs. Tennessee Volunteers game and check the full schedule on FOX Sports!
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