Texas senior defensive lineman Hero Kanu was born in faraway Germany, so for him to be playing in big-time SEC college football with the No. 1 team in the land takes a lot of fortitude and determination.
So, when Kanu says something like he did on Monday in the beginning to the leadup to the Longhorns’ massive matchup on Saturday at No. 14 Tennessee, well, you can’t totally discount him. Kanu knows the challenge ahead for Texas in heading to Neyland Stadium in the matchup of ranked 3-0 teams who’ll be playing their SEC openers.
When the teams kick things off at shortly after noon ET on ABC, the Horns will be trying to slow down the so-far vaunted Vols’ rushing attack, which is currently averaging 298 yards per game. Sure, when you look at the fine print on Tennessee, it has only played and blown out Furman, Georgia Tech and Kennesaw State, so it’s not like the Volunteers have been running all over elite defenses.
But almost 300 yards is almost 300 yards, and containing Tennessee on the ground will be a focal point of Texas’s path to victory. Kanu believes that path includes a very lofty goal this Saturday. He told reporters on Monday that the Longhorns’ goal is to hold the Vols under 100 rushing yards, which if they do that would be at least 200 yards rushing less than what Tennessee is currently churning out per game.
The showdown between the Longhorns and Volunteers could be 1 of the SEC’s best matchups of the season before it’s all over. Here is what the Kalshi market is currently saying about the 2 teams who wear orange and which 1 has the better chance to come out of Neyland Stadium with a big victory:
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.
