College GameDay reveals Week 4 destination for high-stakes unbeaten SEC clash
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ESPN’s College GameDay is heading to Knoxville for Week 4, giving No. 1 Texas and host Tennessee the show’s top billing as the unbeaten Longhorns open SEC play at Neyland Stadium on Saturday.
The college football show’s Week 4 location was reported Sunday, the day after both teams moved to 3-0. Kickoff is set for noon ET on ABC. It will be the first game Texas has ever played in Knoxville and the first meeting between the programs since 1968.
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Texas sputters past UTSA
Texas beat UTSA 30-6 on Saturday in Austin, but the Longhorns looked sluggish on offense. Quarterback Arch Manning threw two first-half touchdown passes to wide receiver Cam Coleman but then struggled. He finished 16 of 32 for 161 yards and took several hard hits.
The Longhorns’ defense held UTSA to 143 total yards and kept the Roadrunners out of the end zone. Still, Texas was flagged eight times for 88 yards after drawing six penalties in its first two games.
Texas coach Steve Sarkisian defended the result after the game.
“I’m not gonna apologize for winning by 24 points,” Sarkisian said. “We beat a team 30-6 that was undefeated, that’s probably gonna go win, I don’t know, somewhere between eight, nine, 10, 11 games.”
Texas climbed to No. 1 after a 24-23 win over Ohio State in Week 2. Manning led a 21-point fourth-quarter comeback in that game.
How did Tennessee handle Kennesaw State?
Tennessee beat Kennesaw State 42-9 on Saturday night in front of 101,915 fans at Neyland Stadium. It was the Vols’ 29th straight sellout.
Quarterback Faizon Brandon threw for 178 yards and a touchdown and ran for another score. Sophomore running back Daune Morris ran for 116 yards, including a 42-yard touchdown. He carried a bigger load after starter DeSean Bishop was slowed by an injury in the second quarter.
Tennessee coach Josh Heupel said his team cleaned up the mistakes from last week’s win at Georgia Tech.
“Wanted to see us play smarter,” Heupel said. “Penalties last week were egregious. We did play smarter tonight.”
Heupel also wants more touchdowns inside the 20. The Vols settled for field goals twice in the second quarter.
“Offensively, just have to be better in the red zone,” Heupel said.
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Peyton Manning and GameDay history
Saturday’s game carries a family angle for Peyton Manning. The Tennessee alum is Arch’s uncle, and he said this summer that his nephew comes first when the two teams meet.
“I love my university, my alma mater. Pull for them unconditionally. But nothing’s more important than my family, and when you have a nephew playing, I pull very hard for him every single Saturday,” the former Vols quarterback said at the Manning Passing Academy.
This will be GameDay‘s fourth trip to Knoxville since 2022. The show visited for Tennessee’s home game against Georgia in Week 3 of 2025. It also came to town twice in 2022, for the Vols’ wins over Florida and Alabama.
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