Paul Finebaum reacts to Tennessee’s 2-0 start, shares excitement for Week 4 showdown with Texas
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Paul Finebaum gave it up to Tennessee for its solid play so far during the 2026 season, and the ESPN college football analyst is even excited about the Volunteers’ home showdown with current No. 1 Texas in a few weeks.
During his appearance on The Matt Barrie Show on Sunday morning to recap a wild and crazy Week 2, Finebaum had a lot of praise for what the Volunteers have accomplished so far and what lies ahead for them. Tennessee has inched up to No. 15 in the latest AP Poll after victories over Furman and Georgia Tech to start the season.
Now at 2-0, the Volunteers are almost certain to get to 3-0 on Saturday night with a home matchup against Kennesaw State (7:45 p.m. ET, SEC Network). And that would likely set up a huge showdown of SEC unbeatens when the Longhorns travel to Knoxville for a Week 4 clash that kicks off at noon ET.
It would be a big-time battle of programs who wear a certain kind of orange, and Finebaum is already ready for it in addition to liking what Tennessee has done so far.
“We knew less about Tennessee than almost anybody (entering the season). But I really like Tennessee right now. I think Tennessee is going to start looking ahead — calm down a little bit — but that Texas game, a noon game in two weeks, is going to be one of the biggest scenes we’ve seen in Knoxville in some time,” Finebaum said.
Finebaum is excited about the potential of this Volunteers team.
“I realize two years ago they went to the Playoff, and they’ve beaten Alabama there — they haven’t beaten Georgia in a while — but this could be a monster game for the Volunteers,” Finebaum said. “And I’m all in on it because Tennessee looks a lot better.”
Tennessee is off and running at 2-0, but naturally the competition is going to get harder when the Volunteers get into the meat of the SEC grind. Here is what the Kalshi market is currently saying about Tennessee’s potential win total for the 2026 season:
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
