Tennessee is turning to George MacIntyre for the first start of his career this weekend at Arkansas, with the No. 15 Volunteers moving ahead without injured quarterback Faizon Brandon.
Sources confirmed to CBS Sports' Matt Zenitz that MacIntyre will be under center in Fayetteville as Tennessee faces the Razorbacks. Brandon has been working through a lingering shoulder injury that he picked up late in the Volunteers’ loss to No. 1 Texas two weeks ago, and his attempt to play through it against Auburn on Saturday didn’t last the full game.
MacIntyre already gave Tennessee a lift in that win over Auburn. After Brandon exited in the second quarter, the sophomore stepped in and helped guide the Vols to a 24-14 victory. He finished 8-of-10 for 86 yards, while Tennessee leaned heavily on the run game behind DeSean Bishop, who piled up 220 yards and three touchdowns.
Now MacIntyre gets the full job for the first time, and the matchup sets up cleanly for him. Arkansas is viewed as the SEC’s weakest team, and its defense has been surrendering 28.4 points per game, the second-most in the league. The Razorbacks sit near the bottom of the conference in just about every defensive category, giving Tennessee a chance to push toward 5-1.
What happens next could shape the quarterback picture even more. Tennessee’s trip to Tuscaloosa on Oct. 17 to face No.
6 Alabama looms, and Josh Heupel will have to weigh Brandon’s health against whatever MacIntyre shows in Fayetteville. If MacIntyre plays well and the offense looks sharp, even a healthy Brandon may not make the decision simple heading into that game with the Crimson Tide.
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ProHogs Are Starting To Make Serious Noise On Sundays
Sunday is starting to look like a familiar stage for a growing group of former Arkansas standouts, and Week 3 gave the ProHogs another chance to make their presence felt. Isaac TeSlaa turned in a career-high 95 receiving yards, while Dre Greenlaw piled up 12 tackles and added a forced fumble, the kind of production that keeps Razorback fans tracking the NFL box scores long after their college season ends.
The depth of that alumni list is part of the appeal now, with multiple former Hogs seeing game action across different teams and building out their early-season stat lines. There are more chances coming soon, too, and the next round of matchups should give Arkansas followers another reason to keep an eye on Sundays as this group continues to carve out roles at the pro level. [Read more 🡒]
Arkansas Has Two Early Problems That Could Decide Tennessee Game
Arkansas heads into its matchup with Tennessee knowing the margin for error is thin, and the early issues it needs to clean up are about as basic as they come for a November football game. The Razorbacks have spent the week stressing the need to get more out of the run game, while also shoring up the other side of the ball against a Tennessee rushing attack that could be central to the Vols' plan.
DeSean Bishop looms as the key name in that ground game, especially with Tennessee expected to start backup quarterback George MacIntyre. If the Vols lean more heavily on Bishop, Arkansas will have to be sharper at the point of attack than it has been at times this season, because these kinds of early-down problems can quickly dictate the flow of a game that Tennessee enters as a 13.5-point favorite. [Read more 🡒]
Braelyn Combe Just Gave Arkansas Another Reason To Believe
Braelyn Combe is already giving Arkansas plenty to like in the early stretch of the cross country season. The freshman won her first collegiate race at the Chile Pepper Festival, covering the 5,000-meter course in 15:59.0, a mark that landed as the third-fastest time in the meets history and quickly earned her SEC Runner of the Week and SEC Freshman of the Week recognition.
For a program that measures itself by how well it can develop and close races, Combes debut was the kind of result that turns heads fast. She edged UT Arlington sophomore Dorcas Jepkosgei by one tenth of a second, a finish that hinted at a runner who is already comfortable in pressure moments, and perhaps only beginning to show what she can bring as the meets get bigger and the competition gets tougher. [Read more 🡒]