KNOXVILLE, Tenn.
— One of the biggest games on the college football calendar is officially set, and Texas and Tennessee fans need to be ready early.
The Texas Longhorns will travel to face the Tennessee Volunteers on Saturday, September 26, with kickoff scheduled for 12:00 p.m.
ET / 11:00 a.m. CT at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville.
The heavyweight SEC matchup will be televised nationally on ABC, while ESPN College GameDay will bring its Saturday morning show to Knoxville ahead of kickoff.
With two undefeated teams, two of college football’s most recognizable brands and more than 100,000 fans expected to pack Neyland Stadium, this has quickly become one of the headline games of the weekend.
🔥 DON’T MISS IT — THE OFFICIAL KICKOFF TIME AND FULL UPDATED GAME INFORMATION ARE BELOW 👇
🏈 TEXAS vs. TENNESSEE — OFFICIAL GAME DETAILS
Matchup: Texas Longhorns at Tennessee Volunteers
Date: Saturday, September 26, 2026
Kickoff: 12:00 p.m. ET / 11:00 a.m. CT
Location: Neyland Stadium — Knoxville, Tennessee
TV: ABC
Conference: SEC
Tennessee Theme: Checker Neyland
For Texas fans watching from the Central Time Zone, the biggest detail is impossible to miss:
This game starts at 11 a.m. CT.
There will be no waiting until Saturday afternoon or primetime.
The Longhorns and Volunteers will take center stage before lunch in Texas, making an early alarm essential for fans who don’t want to miss the opening kickoff.
College GameDay Adds to the Hype
The magnitude of the matchup became even clearer when ESPN selected Knoxville as the site of College GameDay.
The show is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m.
ET, turning the Tennessee campus into the center of the college football world throughout the morning.
For Tennessee supporters, that means game day begins hours before the Volunteers run through the “T” at Neyland Stadium.
For Texas, it means walking directly into one of the loudest and most emotionally charged environments the Longhorns are likely to experience all season.
And once GameDay wraps up, the focus shifts immediately to the field.
Texas Brings a Perfect Record to Knoxville
Texas enters the matchup at 3-0, and the Longhorns have already faced a major early-season test.
They opened the year with a dominant 59-7 victory over Texas State before surviving a thriller against Ohio State.
That matchup went down to the wire, with Texas escaping with a dramatic 24-23 victory.
The Longhorns then handled UTSA 30-6, sending them into their first road game of the season with an undefeated record.
But Neyland Stadium represents an entirely different challenge.
The crowd will be hostile.
The stadium will be packed.
The orange-and-white Checker Neyland pattern will surround the field.
And Tennessee will enter with a perfect record of its own.
Tennessee Is 3-0, Too
The Volunteers have been equally impressive through the opening weeks.
Tennessee began its season by overwhelming Furman 56-9, then went to Atlanta and defeated Georgia Tech 45-24.
The Vols followed those performances with a convincing 42-9 victory over Kennesaw State, improving to 3-0 heading into their SEC opener.
Now the competition takes another major step upward.
Texas is coming to Knoxville.
For Tennessee, this isn’t merely an opportunity to stay undefeated.
It is an opportunity to make a statement on a national stage against one of the biggest programs in the sport.
For Texas, Saturday provides an opportunity to prove that its undefeated start can survive away from home.
A Historic Matchup With an Unusual History
One of the most fascinating aspects of this game is how rarely Texas and Tennessee have actually played.
Despite their enormous histories, passionate fan bases and shared orange identities, the programs have met only three times — all in the Cotton Bowl.
Tennessee won the first matchup 20-14 in 1951.
Texas responded with a 16-0 victory in 1953 and then defeated the Volunteers 36-13 in 1969.
More than half a century has passed since that last meeting.
Now, for the first time, Texas and Tennessee will meet during the regular season.
And this time, they’re SEC opponents.
That alone gives Saturday’s matchup a completely different meaning.
Neyland Stadium Takes Center Stage
The setting should be spectacular.
Tennessee has designated the Texas matchup as Checker Neyland, meaning sections throughout the stadium will alternate between orange and white.
It has become one of Tennessee football’s most recognizable traditions, transforming Neyland Stadium into a massive checkerboard when viewed from the field or television cameras.
Add College GameDay, an undefeated Texas team and Tennessee’s SEC opener, and Knoxville should be buzzing long before sunrise.
For Longhorns supporters traveling east, the early kickoff also changes the entire game-day schedule.
Tailgating starts early.
Parking starts early.
Stadium entry starts early.
And the football starts at noon Eastern.
The Stakes Are Already Rising
It’s only September, but neither team will view this as an ordinary early-season game.
Texas has opened 3-0 and already survived a one-point battle with Ohio State.
Tennessee has opened 3-0 while outscoring its first three opponents 143-42.
Now one undefeated record will face its biggest test yet.
There will be plenty of football remaining after Saturday, but a victory in Knoxville would provide either program with significant momentum heading deeper into conference play.
That’s why the national spotlight is coming to Tennessee.
That’s why GameDay will be there.
And that’s why fans need to know exactly when this one begins.
🔥 FULL KICKOFF & BROADCAST ALERT
🏈 Texas Longhorns at Tennessee Volunteers
📅 Saturday, September 26, 2026
⏰ 12:00 p.m. ET / 11:00 a.m. CT
📍 Neyland Stadium — Knoxville, Tennessee
📺 ABC
🎙️ ESPN College GameDay in Knoxville
🟧⬜ Checker Neyland
Two undefeated teams.
Two iconic programs.
More than 50 years since their last meeting.
And for the first time ever, Texas and Tennessee are meeting in the regular season.
Texas fans: set the alarm. Tennessee fans: get to Neyland early.
At 12:00 p.m. ET / 11:00 a.m. CT Saturday, the waiting ends and the Longhorns and Volunteers finally collide. 🏈🔥
