Tennessee Volunteers vs Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Prediction, Picks and Game Preview - 09/12/2026

Game Time: 7:00 pm ET, Saturday, September 12, 2026

Venue:  Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field, Atlanta, GA

Where to Watch:  ESPN

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  Tennessee -12.5, GA Tech +12.5; Over/Under:  55.5 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  Tennessee -12.5, GA Tech +12.5; Over/Under:  55.5 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  Tennessee -12.5, GA Tech +12.5; Over/Under:  55.5 points

Tennessee Volunteers:  1-0 (0-0) (1st place, SEC)

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets:  0-1 (0-0) (10th place, ACC)

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Tennessee Volunteers:  won their last game at home against the Furman Paladins 56-9.

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets:  lost their last game at home against the Colorado Buffaloes 14-13.

Tennessee is entering this game with a 1-0 record overall and they have a 0-0 record in their conference games too. They are 1-0 in their home games, 0-0 in their road games, and they are also 0-0 in their neutral site games this season, but they will be on the road for this game. They won their last game against Furman 56-9. Faizon Brandon was the starting QB and he completed 13/17 passes for 226 passing yards, 3 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions. DeSean Bishop led the team in rushing yards with 97 and 1 TD. Mike Matthews led the receivers with 132 receiving yards on 4 receptions and 2 TDs. Amare Campbell and Xavier Gilliam each led the defense in that game with 6 tackles while Xavier Gilliam led the defense in sacks with 3. No one on the defense came away with an interception for them in that one.

 

 

 

Georgia Tech is entering this game with a 0-1 record overall and they have a 0-0 record in their conference games too. They are 0-1 in their home games, 0-0 in their road games, and they are also 0-0 in their neutral site games this season, but they will be at home for this game. They lost their last game against Colorado 14-13. Alberto Mendoza was the starting QB and he completed 17/23 passes for 237 passing yards, 0 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions. Justice Haynes led the team in rushing yards with 64. Jordan Allen led the receivers with 113 receiving yards on 8 receptions. Kyle Efford led the defense in that game with 14 tackles while Tawfiq Thomas led the defense in sacks with 1. No one on the defense came away with an interception for them in that one.

The current betting odds have Tennessee listed as a 12.5 point favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. Tennessee has a 1-0 record overall this season after beating up on a team from the FCS. They beat Furman 56-9 and their offense looked great with all the new faces this year. They have an exciting QB taking over the offense this season and he looked great in week 1. They didn't really get tested against Furman, but Heupel has been known to get the most out of his QB's with his style of offense and Tennessee has a really big talent advantage in this one too. Meanwhile, Georgia Tech has a 0-1 record overall this season and they looked terrible in week 1. They did get tested in their season opener with a game against Colorado, but Colorado still isn't a contender in the Big 12 and Georgia Tech lost at home 14-13. The defense wasn't bad, but the offense looked terrible as Mendoza couldn't find his rhythm with this new team. Georgia Tech was one of the best teams in the ACC last season, but they are due for some regression this season after losing the amount of talent that they lost. Haynes King was the heart and soul of this offense last season, but Mendoza doesn't look like he can be the guy to replace that this year. They had a lot of trouble even running the ball which was their biggest strength last season and their only TD scored in that game came on a kick return. Now they have a more talented team coming into town looking to flew their muscles against a team that was considered an ACC contender last season. Look for Tennessee to continue rolling here as Georgia Tech searches for their identity this year. The best way to place a bet here is on Tennessee to cover the spread in this game. 

Tennessee Georgia Tech Prediction:  Our NCAAF Pick for Saturday, September 12, 2026 (7:00 pm ET start time) is Tennessee 45 Georgia Tech 24.

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Tennessee Volunteers: 9-14 ATS against FBS division opponents. 1-3 ATS as a favorite of 10.5 to 21 points. 26-34 ATS off a home blowout win by 28 points or more. 10-5 OVER against ACC opponents. 9-2 OVER after a win by 17 or more points.

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets: 7-4 ATS in home lined games. 25-16 ATS after playing a Thursday game. 20-13 ATS when playing with 8 days rest. 29-19 OVER off an upset loss as a favorite. 24-14 OVER after a loss by 6 or less points.

Tennessee Volunteers:  J. Harmon (LB) Out - Knee.

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets:  D. Collins (WR) Questionable - Undisclosed. J. Plummer (WR) Questionable - Undisclosed.

“(Brandon) managed what we were trying to accomplish extremely well. (We were) trusting what we've seen on the field (in practice) to show up on game day.” - Josh Heupel after his team’s win against Furman in their last game. 

“Right now, when I look at the film, we look as if we were a poorly prepared, poorly coached, poor disciplined, soft football team. And that is extremely black and white, and that’s the way I have to deal with this thing.” - Brent Key after his team’s loss against Colorado in their last game. 

WR Matthews, Mike

WR Jackson, Radarious

WR Staley, Braylon

TE Davis, Ethan

QB Brandon, Faizon

RB Bishop, DeSean

WR Fuhrmann, Isaiah

WR Penson, Dalen

WR Allen, Jordan

TE Harris, Gavin

QB Mendoza, Alberto

RB Haynes, Justice

Passing: Faizon Brandon (226)

Rushing: DeSean Bishop (97)

Receiving: Mike Matthews (132)

Touchdowns: Faizon Brandon (2)

Passing: Alberto Mendoza (237)

Rushing: Justice Haynes (64)

Receiving: Jordan Allen (113)

Touchdowns: Rahkeem Smith (1)

Coaches:

Tennessee Volunteers: Josh Heupel (6th season)

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets: Brent Key (5th season)