Faizon Brandon didn’t need to light up the scoreboard against Kennesaw State to do his job. He played it steady, took the easy throws, and helped Tennessee keep rolling. But Josh Heupel still left Neyland Stadium thinking about the one play that got away.
“Well, we were close to hitting a big one to Mike (Matthews) later in the game,” Heupel said after the 14th-ranked Vols (3-0) beat Kennesaw State (1-2) 42-9 on Sept. 19.
That missed shot came early in the fourth quarter, after Brandon had spent most of the night picking apart a defense built to take away explosive plays. He finished with 178 passing yards, but only one completion went beyond 20 yards - a 35-yard catch-and-run by Braylon Staley on the first play of the game.
The throw to Matthews had real touchdown potential. Brandon said he saw the safety “was getting a little nosy” on a crossing route, which opened the deep middle.
He let it go, but the pass slipped through Matthews’ fingertips at the goal line. What could have been a 54-yard touchdown instead became an incomplete pass.
“I feel like (completing those passes) is really important because it sets the tone of the game,” Brandon said. “It’s important to hit those big shots.”
That moment didn’t matter much in a blowout, but it could matter plenty when Tennessee hosts No. 1 Texas on Sept. 26 (noon ET, ABC) in an SEC showdown at Neyland Stadium.
Kennesaw State gave Tennessee exactly the kind of look that can frustrate a quarterback looking for chunk gains. The Owls regularly dropped eight into coverage and rushed only three, daring Brandon to settle for short throws and checkdowns. He did just that, completing 18 of 26 passes and leaning on backs and shallow routes over the middle.
“Coverages have weaknesses. Structures have weaknesses.
There was a way that (Kennesaw State) wanted to play tonight defensively,” Heupel said. “I thought Faizon did a good job working windows and taking what was there.”
That patience is part of Brandon’s game. He wasn’t trying to force anything, and he said so plainly.
“I’m not really trying to force anything,” Brandon said. “(I) just take what they give me and not try to do anything extra.”
The approach worked. Tennessee scored on seven of nine drives with Brandon in the game, even if the offense didn’t produce many eye-popping plays. That kind of discipline is useful for a freshman quarterback, and Brandon showed he could stay within the plan.
Still, Texas will study how Kennesaw State tried to shrink the field and limit explosive plays. The Longhorns will also see the flip side: if Tennessee stays patient, the big play can eventually appear. The problem for the Vols is that they can’t afford to miss the chances that do come against better competition.
There’s another angle for Tennessee, too. A defense that loads up the back end can leave itself exposed on the ground, and the Vols did run for 268 yards against Kennesaw State. They’re averaging 299 rushing yards per game.
But the numbers don’t tell the whole story. Tennessee’s ground success has come against Furman, Georgia Tech and Kennesaw State, a group that has no FBS wins this season.
If Texas sells out to stop the pass, Brandon should be willing to keep taking the short stuff. If Tennessee can find room to run against a light box, that could force the Longhorns to adjust. But if the Vols can’t land a few deep shots or bully Texas with the run, the afternoon could get tense in a hurry.
“We’re going to have to get better (because we) understand who we’re playing next week,” Heupel said. "I like the results (of the season so far).
I like that we've gotten better every week. This football team should enjoy it briefly.
Then Monday we'll come in and (we'll see) the reality on the tape of how we need to get better."
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The scene had an extra layer of irony at halftime, with Ole Miss up 24-7 on LSU while Tennessee held a 21-3 lead over Kennesaw State back home. It was the kind of crossover moment that keeps Kiffin attached to both SEC scoreboard watching and Tennessees long memory, with a handful of fans still willing to spend real money to make the point in person. [Read more 🡒]