{
  "id": 5350945,
  "title": "Why ESPN analyst put Tennessee football on upset alert vs Furman. Here's why",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/03/why-espn-analyst-put-tennessee-football-on-upset-alert-vs-furman",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-09-03T14:55:55.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Yahoo Sports",
    "slug": "yahoo-sports",
    "url": "https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/why-espn-analyst-put-tennessee-145555783.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "ESPN analyst Jordan Rodgers has put Tennessee football on an upset alert for their upcoming season opener against Furman on September 5th. Despite being 46.5-point favorites, Rodgers believes the game could be closer than the betting lines suggest due to several factors at play. The primary concern for Tennessee is their freshman quarterback, Faizon Brandon, who, despite his immense talent, could make costly mistakes in his debut. Rodgers drew a comparison to Appalachian State's shocking upset over then No. 5 Michigan in 2007, highlighting that often the better team triumphs over the better team through their own mistakes. Rodgers also anticipates growing pains for the Vols' defense as they integrate a new coordinator, Jim Knowles, along with numerous new assistant coaches and key transfer pieces on the defensive line and secondary. While Rodgers doesn't expect Furman to win, he does think the season opener could turn out to be a memorable, one-in-a-million game given the turnover at important positions on the Vols' roster this offseason.",
  "summary": "Former Vanderbilt quarterback and ESPN analyst Jordan Rodgers thinks Tennessee's season opener against Furman will be closer than the experts think.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Yahoo Sports",
        "title": "Tennessee football announces uniform combination for Furman game",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/03/tennessee-football-announces-uniform-combination-for-furman-game",
        "published": "2026-09-03T13:20:09.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}