Tennessee will be the fresher team with the most fans Saturday afternoon when the No. 19 Volunteers face Texas A&M inside Neyland Stadium, but will that be enough to top the talent-rich Aggies?
The most unique Southeastern Conference matchup of Tennessee’s 2023 season — the Vols (4-1, 1-1 SEC) and Aggies (4-2, 2-1) are colliding for just the third time since Texas A&M joined the league in 2012 — contains a pair of notable advantages for the Vols. Tennessee had its lone open date last weekend, while Texas A&M sustained an emotional 26-20 loss to No. 11 Alabama in College Station.
Vols third-year coach Josh Heupel believes the brief time off provided the necessary rejuvenation.
“Practice has been really good. They’ve been locked in,” Heupel said Thursday during his final news conference of the week. “They’re excited about this one, and they understand the type of opponent that we’re playing. The timing of the bye week came at the right time for us where we were at, so it’s been good.”
While Tennessee was resting last Saturday, the Aggies were building a 17-10 halftime lead against an Alabama program they have topped just once in the past decade. In the second half, the Crimson Tide took over, holding the Aggies to 103 yards, including just 15 on the ground.