It’s Sunday, and that means new rankings drop for the Coaches and AP polls. After improving to 3-0 with a 42-9 win over Kennesaw State Saturday night, the Tennessee football team moved up to No. 13 in the U.S. LBM Coaches Poll. In addition, they are now No. 14 in the AP Poll.
Tennessee is set to start Southeastern Conference play with the No. 1 Texas Longhorns Saturday at noon EDT. The game will be televised on ABC and will also be host to ESPN’s College GameDay. Quarterback Faizon Brandon heads into his first SEC contest with 552 yards passing with six touchdowns. He’s completed 41-of-64 and has yet to throw an interception.
“I’m at a pretty good spot right now, definitely a lot of things I’m going to work on,” Brandon said after Saturday night’s game. “I just need to continue to not try to do anything extra and take what the defense gives me, and continue to try to extend plays when things aren’t there. There’s certain things I can work on, but I feel like I just need to keep on taking what the defense is giving me.”
The Vols have a potent ground attack, and Saturday night brought a 268-yard game on 41 rushing attempts. Sophomore running back Daune Morris led all rushers with 116 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries. Morris has put together two consecutive strong weeks on the ground.
“It’s been a great two weeks, but just the prep,” Morris said. “Doing my job has been the main focus. Not really being too overhead about the games I’ve produced or anything I’ve done on the field. Just being able to correct my wrongs and go into more details on my alignment, assignment and details.”
Head coach Josh Heupel likes the trajectory of his team heading into SEC play. The Vols still have a lot to work on and correct, with the play of the offensive line being a widespread concern among people. However, starting this is the week that things have to click and be at their best.
“I like the results,” Heupel said Saturday. “I like that we’ve gotten better every week. This football team, they should enjoy it briefly tonight and start getting prepared tomorrow. Then Monday we come in and.. the reality of who we were on the tape and how we need to get better.”
