By SCOTT FELTS
The Opponent: Georgia Tech
When: Saturday, September 12th, 7pm EST (ESPN)
Where: Bobby Dodd Stadium, Atlanta
Georgia Tech enters this Week 2 matchup with the Volunteers as a dangerous, battle-tested Atlantic Coast Conference squad looking to build on its 9-4 breakout campaign in 2025. This looks to be a raucous early-season test for the Vols, despite Bobby Dodd Stadium holding just over half of the crowd size of Neyland Stadium at 55,000.
Fun fact — the Georgia Tech stadium is named after Kingsport, TN, native Bobby Dodd, who was an outstanding athlete at Dobyns-Bennett before going on to an All-American playing career at Tennessee and a storied tenure as coach at Georgia Tech.
Identity Crisis?
Do the Vols even know who they need to defeat in Atlanta? Georgia Tech is famously known as both the Yellow Jackets and the Rambling Wreck.
The Yellow Jackets nickname started in 1905. Fans showed up to games wearing bright yellow jackets, and legendary coach John Heisman liked it so much he declared that his teams would be known as the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.
The Rambling Wreck nickname has deeper, older roots. It goes back to the late 1800s when Georgia Tech engineers working on projects in the jungles of Central and South America built makeshift vehicles out of whatever parts they could find. Locals started calling those beat-up contraptions and the resourceful Tech grads who drove them “Rambling Wrecks from Georgia Tech.”
In 1961, Georgia Tech acquired a restored 1930 Ford Model A that’s been leading the Yellow Jackets onto the field before every home football game ever since.
Coach Background
Brent Key returns for his fourth full season as head coach. The Georgia Tech alum, who lettered as an offensive lineman, has steadily rebuilt the program after taking over midway through the 2022 campaign. Key is known for his physical, run-heavy identity rooted in his offensive line background.
Staff Facts
Offensive coordinator George Godsey, who was hired in January, is a former Georgia Tech quarterback who spent the past 15 years coaching in the NFL, most recently as coached tight ends coach with the Baltimore Ravens. He brings pro-style concepts and familiarity with the program. Defensive coordinator Jason Semore also returns to the program; he was previously on Key’s early staff in 2022 as linebackers coach and interim special teams coordinator. He was also hired in January, just two weeks after taking the job as defensive coordinator at Memphis — a short stint that cost him a $2 million buyout.
Quarterback Preview
Redshirt sophomore Alberto Mendoza (6-2, 210), a transfer from Indiana, is the expected starter. He’s the younger brother of the Heisman Trophy winning, NFL No. 1 overall draft pick and national champion Fernando Mendoza, and brings dual-threat ability. He’ll compete with another redshirt sophomore, the returning Graham Knowles (6-7, 230), among others but enters fall camp as the front runner in a revamped offense. Mendoza completed 18-of-24 passes (75%) for 286 yards, five touchdowns and just one interception in his nine games in 2025 — all blowouts — demonstrating efficiency with solid completion rates, mobility, and low turnovers. He rushed 13 times for 190 yards (14.6 avg) and a score.
Key Offensive Player
RB Justice Haynes (5-11, 210), a senior who transferred in from Michigan after starting his career at Alabama, is a high-upside addition who brings Big Ten productivity and explosiveness to the backfield that should enhance Georgia Tech’s traditional run-first approach.
A former five-star prospect and the number one player in the state of Georgia out of high school, Haynes’ father Verron caught the famous Hobnail Boot game-winning touchdown for Georgia in Neyland Stadium in 2001. Can another Haynes break the Vols’ hearts?
Key Defensive Player
Kyle Efford (6-2, 225) is the top returning defensive player for Georgia Tech. The redshirt senior linebacker led the team in tackles in 2025 with 77 (33 solo), also totaling 1.5 sacks, a forced fumble, and was named third-team All-ACC despite missing some time with an injury. He’s a proven leader and tackler who’s back to anchor the linebacking corps.
X-Factor
Georgia Tech begins the season with back-to-back home games (the Jackets host Colorado Sept. 3), , providing the chance to build early momentum while Tennessee takes a new QB and new defense on the road to a Power 4 conference opponent. Also a factor are the new coordinators for both teams. Godsey and Semore for Georgia Tech and Jim Knowles for Tennessee provide potential fresh schematic wrinkles that can catch opponents off guard in September when little to no game footage is available to scout.
How Georgia Tech Can Win
Lean into its identity with a physical run game powered by Haynes and the O-line, using Mendoza’s mobility to extend plays and create explosiveness. If the revamped defense (bolstered by transfers like Alabama’s Noah Carter) generates pressure and forces Tennessee into mistakes early, the home crowd and balanced attack could keep it close or lead to an upset in a low-scoring, grind-it-out affair.
How Georgia Tech Can Lose
Inexperience at quarterback and potential growing pains with new coordinators could lead to early turnovers or stalled drives against Tennessee’s speed and talent. If the Vols control the trenches and exploit any defensive communication issues among the secondary or linebackers, Georgia Tech’s offense may struggle to keep pace in a shootout or get worn down physically.
Prediction: Tennessee 34, Georgia Tech 20.
This should be a competitive but ultimately decisive Tennessee win on the road. The Vols’ superior depth and athleticism represent the key factors. Georgia Tech will make it interesting with timely runs and Mendoza’s scrambling, keeping it within striking distance into the third quarter, but Tennessee’s offensive firepower and defensive adjustments should turn it into a multi-score victory late. Not a total blowout, but the Vols handle business against whatever the team from Atlanta wants to call themselves.