Tennessee football’s defense came to play amidst the team’s first road contest of the 2026-27 season.

The Vols defeated Georgia Tech 45-24 as the rushing attack and defense led the way.

The Vols (2-0) ran for 299 yards as a team, with DeSean Bishop leading the way with 147 yards and two touchdowns. Daune Morris added 98 yards on 10 carries.

Faizon Brandon struggled to get much going, going just 10-for-22 with 148 passing yards. He threw for two touchdowns.

“The stat sheet is not going to be elite. I actually really like the way he played the game,” Tennessee coach Josh Heupel said. “I thought he was composed, he handled himself in situational football pretty well. First game on the road, 18 years old, handled himself well, took care of (the ball). Scrambled, made some plays. There’s a couple things that he’s going to learn from and get better from, but all in all, really good.”

The Vols struggled with penalties, finishing the game with 14 penalties for 142 yards, compared to the Yellowjackets’ five for 46.

Georgia Tech (0-2) didn’t get much going throughout the first drive of the game, led by starting quarterback Alberto Mendoza.

After a three-and-out forced by the defense, which included an impressive tackle for loss from defensive lineman Xavier Gilliam, the Vols offense took the field.

It only took three plays for the offense to add the first points of the game. A 33-yard run from DeSean Bishop set up Faizon Brandon for a 25-yard touchdown pass to Ethan Davis just two plays later.

The Yellowjackets were able to add their first points of the game on a lengthy second drive, which ended in a 30-yard field goal from Aidan Birr.

With a 7-3 lead, the momentum quickly flipped after a quick three-and-out from the Vols on the second drive of the game.

After punter Jackson Ross held onto the ball maybe a little longer than he should’ve, Tech’s Elgin Sessions returned a blocked punt for a touchdown, giving the Yellowjackets a 10-7 lead.

The Vols responded with a 14-play drive that ended in just a 32-yard field goal. Yet Brandon made noise with a big fourth-and-two conversion, which included a big-time juke behind the line of scrimmage.

The Vols’ defense continued to shine, forcing Mendoza into a bad throw on the next drive. DeJuan Lane put the exclamation point on the play with a 41-yard pick-six, giving the Vols back the lead at 17-10.

“Obviously, there’s a bunch of things to clean up. Special teams early,” Heupel said. “Offensively, some of the penalties that changed the way the gamewas played. Defensively, a lot of really solid things. And then second half, not up to the standard.”

While the offense didn’t get much going on the next drive, the defense continued to lock down, forcing two straight three-and-outs from the Yellowjacket offense.

The offense finally broke through with a drive that ended with a Brandon-to-Braylon Staley connection. The 20-yard pass was good for Staley’s first score of the year, giving the Vols a 24-10 lead.

The Vols’ defense added one more interception from Jeremiah Telander before entering halftime, holding the 14-point lead.

The Vols’ run game kept getting better as the game went on, with Bishop adding 49 yards on the opening drive of the second half, including a 17-yard score to give the Vols a 31-10 lead in the third.

Mendoza found his groove on the first drive of the second half, leading the Yellowjackets to a touchdown and cutting the score to 31-17.

After the Yellowjacket score in the third quarter, there was little to no action the rest of the game until Bishop put the icing on the cake with a 29-yard run for the score.

The Vols next contest is against Kennesaw State next week, at 7:45 pm ET.

Source: Yahoo Sports