Tennessee isn't heading into the 2026 season with expectations of being a national championship contender, but most — including the preseason AP poll — consider the Volunteers a solid top-25 team. But those watching the preseason in Knoxville have several big reasons to think this year's team may disappoint on Rocky Top.
Proponents of the Volunteers will point out Josh Heupel's solid track record of forging high-scoring offenses even when he's not blessed with overwhelming talent. Heupel will need to exercise all of his attacking powers this year if he intends to outscore his competition in the SEC, though.
High expectations are the norm in Tennessee, but this year's team has a relatively low floor compared to recent history for the SEC East powers. These three issues could derail Heupel's hopes of continuing to build momentum with the Volunteers.
Faizon Brandon will struggle as a freshman quarterback in the SEC
It was not a surprise when Tennessee announced that true freshman Faizon Brandon beat out veteran George MacIntyre to win the starting job as Heupel's No. 1 quarterback. His athletic upside was always going to be too much for his head coach to pass up.
That does not mean this season will be smooth sailing for the highly touted freshman. Like almost every freshman, he will struggle when it comes to handling the week-to-week challenges of SEC football. Conference trips to South Carolina, Arkansas, Texas A&M and Vanderbilt will all give Brandon massive challenges in terms of handling tough environments.
Brandon will have his share of highs in the comfortable confines of Huepel's offense, but he'll also have some ugly moments. Those ugly moments will likely cost Tennessee a couple of games in 2026. It's easy to envision that knocking the Volunteers out of the top 25 by the time the calendar turns to November. His long-term outlook with the team is bright, but he'll be up and down in his first season at the helm of this offense.
Injuries have already depleted the Tennessee defense
Tennessee's defense struggled mightily to slow opposing offenses down in 2025 and the hope was that revamping the personnel would provide big dividends in 2026. Unfortunately for Heupel and his defensive staff, injuries have already taken a chunk out of their talent pool in the preseason.
Safety Edrees Farooq will miss the entire season after suffering a patellar tendon injury. Jaedon Harmon's ACL injury costs Tennessee a valuable presence at linebacker. Jadas Richard was expected to be a key factor at cornerback, but injury will also force him to miss the entire 2026 campaign.
Combine those serious injuries with a number of smaller concerns and things are looking quite thin on the defensive side of the ball. As good as Heupel's been on offense during his tenure in Knoxville, his defenses have struggled to live up to their end of the bargain. This year's unit could be just as porous as last year's team, which will heap too much pressure on the offense to produce winning football.
Tennssee's early season schedule could doom their chances for success
The Volunteers should be strong favorites at home against both Furman and Kennessaw State in their non-conference slate. The other two of their first four games are much more challenging.
Tennesee will head to Atlanta in their second game to take on a Georgia Tech team that will see this as a chance to change the complexion of their program. The aforementioned inexperience at quarterback will make this a massive test for the Vols to emerge victorious.
The team gets a big opportunity to take on Texas in their fourth game of their season at home at Neyland Stadium. But the talent disparity between the Longhorns and Volunteers is real and significant. Tennessee will need to rely on a massive home environment to overcome that gap. It's a game that Texas should win if both teams play a similar level of football.
Starting 2-2 is not going to make fans in Knoxville happy. The noise surrounding such a mediocre start will start to warm Heupel's seat. That might not be fair, but it's a recipe for the sort of drama that can doom a season. It's a very real potential outcome for Tennessee in 2026.
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