FULL PREVIEW: Texas A&M Football vs. Tennessee

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Sep 30, 2023; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; General view during the second half of the game between the Tennessee Volunteers and the South Carolina Gamecocks at Neyland Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports /

Previewing Texas A&M Football vs. Tennessee

I have already written several times about how big of a matchup this is for Texas A&M football, but it bears repeating. This is perhaps the most important game of the season, given how it has transpired to date. Not only is this a chance to get some momentum coming into the bye, but it also presents an opportunity to majorly exorcise some road game demons. The Aggies have not won a true road game in almost two years—they are 0 for their last 7. I truly believe, however, that this Aggie team is the best since 2020—and perhaps even better than them, though the record may not reflect it. when all is said and done.

Be that as it may, the Aggies still have to go out there and prove it. This weekend’s game against the Volunteers represents the first of three big road tests that Texas A&M football will face on the back half of this schedule, with trips to Oxford and Baton Rouge the other two. The Aggies have visited Neyland once before in the SEC era—given, it was in the COVID season, so the stadium was not quite at full power—and came away with a victory. The Aggies will be hoping to replicate that success, and though this is a prime matchup in the SEC slate this weekend, the Maroon and White are thankfully not staring down the barrel of a night game in the second-largest stadium in the conference.

The Vols, for their part, have started off at 4-1 and are coming off of a bye. They haven’t played many real teams yet this year (with apologies to South Carolina, UTSA, Virginia, and Austin Peay) and fell in a road contest against Florida, so it’s kind of hard to get a bead on Big Orange. Quarterback Joe Milton, despite having the biggest arm in college football, hasn’t quite picked up where Hendon Hooker left off as a passer last year for the prolific Heupel offense; the Vols instead have trusted their ground game to lead the way. That said, Milton has the pure physical talent to break out at any time, so the Aggies will definitely have to be wary of the deep ball; an area where they have struggle mightily this year.

Let’s take a look at how these two teams match up.