Tennessee's freshman quarterback Faizon Brandon will make his first road start on Saturday, and the No. 18 Vols will do it in front of an ESPN audience at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field in Atlanta. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. CT.
Brandon opened his college career with a five-touchdown performance in Tennessee's 56-9 win over Furman on Sept. 5 at Neyland Stadium. He threw for 228 yards and three scores, then added two more touchdowns on the ground with 68 rushing yards. The Vols' youngest starting quarterback in program history was involved in five of the team's eight touchdowns in the opener.
Georgia Tech is coming off a different kind of night. The Yellow Jackets fell 14-13 to Deion Sanders' Colorado Buffaloes on Sept. 4, a game defined by missed opportunities in the red zone. Quarterback Alberto Mendoza completed 17 of 23 passes for 237 yards but was sacked three times. Aiden Burr kicked three field goals, but Georgia Tech never found the end zone on offense.
The matchup pits a Tennessee offense that scored at will against an FCS opponent against a Georgia Tech defense that held Colorado to 14 points. The Vols will be tested in a way they weren't in week one, and the Yellow Jackets will be desperate to avoid an 0-2 start.
Bob Wischusen (play-by-play), Louis Riddick (analyst) and Stormy Buonantony (sideline reporter) will call the game for ESPN. The broadcast is also available on the ESPN app and through FUBO, which offers a free trial. Radio coverage is on 104.5-FM The Zone in the Nashville area.
BetMGM has Tennessee as a 12.5-point favorite as of Sept. 8. The money line sits at Tennessee -530 and Georgia Tech +390. The over/under is set at 55.5 points.
The game represents a significant step up in competition for Tennessee, which opened with a comfortable win over Furman. Georgia Tech, meanwhile, showed it can move the ball through the air with Mendoza but struggled to finish drives against Colorado. The Yellow Jackets' inability to score an offensive touchdown will be a point of emphasis heading into Saturday.
Tennessee's schedule after this game includes a home date with Kennesaw State on Sept. 19, followed by a Sept. 26 matchup with Texas that will be broadcast on either ESPN or ABC. The SEC slate then picks up with Auburn, Arkansas, Alabama, South Carolina, Kentucky, Texas A&M, LSU and Vanderbilt to close the regular season.
For Georgia Tech, the game is a chance to reset after a narrow loss to a high-profile opponent. The Yellow Jackets will need Mendoza to stay upright against a Tennessee defense that will likely bring pressure. The Vols' offense, led by Brandon, will look to keep the momentum from week one rolling on the road.
The game is scheduled for a 6 p.m. CT start on Saturday, Sept. 12. Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field is one of the older venues in college football, and Tennessee will be playing its first road game of the season in front of a Georgia Tech crowd looking for a response after the Colorado loss.
Paul Skrbina is a sports enterprise reporter covering the Predators, Titans, Nashville SC, local colleges and local sports for The Tennessean. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean.
According to Yahoo Sports.