Three Games That Tennessee Fans Should Monitor This Week

Week 3 of the college football season is here and there are big matchups that could impact the Vols playoff hopes.

Sep 12, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Tennessee Volunteers head coach Josh Heupel on the sideline against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in the fourth quarter at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Week 3 of the college football season has arrived and there are several big matchups that could have big implications for the Tennessee Vols future. Tennessee should be fully focused on their upcoming game against Kennesaw State, but the fans should be monitoring the college football landscape to see how their beloved Vols stack up against the nation.

These are the Three Games That Tennessee Fans Should Monitor This Weekend:

Louisville vs SMU

The SMU Mustangs hit the road and travel to Louisville, Kentucky, for one of the biggest ACC matchups of the year. Though the two teams featured in this matchup are not in the SEC, this could be the game with the biggest implications for the Vols' postseason fate.

SMU enters the contest 2-0 and ranked 16th in the nation. Louisville, on the other hand, enters at 1-1 and is ranked 23rd in the most recent rankings. Do not let the fact that Louisville has a loss fool you, that loss came on a last-second field goal against the Ole Miss Rebels in week one.

Texas Tech vs Houston

Another matchup with no SEC teams that could help shape the Vols’ future is the Friday night matchup between Big 12 schools Texas Tech and Houston. Both of these teams enter 2-0 and are ranked in the top 25, respectively.

Though neither of these teams would be eliminated with a loss, it could help shape the College Football Playoff bubble at the end of the year. It should be noted this is the only currently ranked opponent that Texas Tech will play on their schedule.

LSU vs Ole Miss

The biggest game of the weekend for numerous reasons is between the 7th and 8th teams in the country. Lane Kiffin leads his LSU Tigers to Oxford, Mississippi to face off against the Ole Miss Rebels.

Whoever wins this game will have a statement win under their belt and position themselves nicely in the projected playoff field. With both of these teams also being in Tennessee’s conference, this game could be a massive shift in the Vols' playoff outlook because it would be reasonable to assume that the Playoff Committee would have a limit on how many SEC teams make the final field.

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