Tennessee heads into Saturday’s meeting with Alabama still carrying the same big question it had after the Arkansas win: who gets the first snap at quarterback?
Faizon Brandon opened the season as the Vols’ starter, but he was pulled before halftime against Auburn. George MacIntyre took over in that game, then got the job the following week at Arkansas. Head coach Josh Heupel still hasn’t said whether that will carry over into The Third Saturday in October.
One film breakdown, though, pointed firmly in MacIntyre’s direction. After studying the Arkansas tape, analyst Brooks Austin made it clear where he stands.
“First career start for one George MacIntyre. I know Coach Heupel has been playing the games as the podium, not naming a starter coming up this weekend against Alabama,” Austin said.
“Breaking news: I think it’s this guy. I think it’s this guy.
We’ve got a decent body of work at this point. 10 reps against Auburn in about 45 snaps to close out that football game at home. Go on the road and play against Arkansas.
“And look, Tennessee fans watching today, I know it was gross from a score standpoint. I know Vegas thought you were going to win by 13.5 points.
I know I thought you were going to run the ball over 200 yards in that football game. Those things did not happen.
It looked gross, but when you look at the film, and coaches have always said this over the years, it’s not as good as you think, it’s not as bad as you think. When you look at the film, I thought the quarterback did some really, really good things.
Some promising things.
“Some things that you look at and say, okay, we’re actually going to make defenses be responsible for both attacks - the run and the pass. Everybody knows you’re going to run the ball.
Everybody is going to load up to stop the run. It’s the quarterback’s job to take that away.
To start to lighten these counts just a little bit. And most importantly, start to get the ball out to these playmakers.”
MacIntyre’s numbers at Arkansas were steady enough to back up that view. He finished 18-of-29 for 247 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. He was also sacked twice and lost a fumble.
The matchup itself brings Alabama to Knoxville as the favorite. FanDuel listed the Tide as 8.5-point favorites Tuesday afternoon, with Alabama at -365 on the money line and Tennessee at +285.
Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. ET on ABC. Sean McDonough will handle play-by-play, Greg McElroy will be on analysis, and Katie George will report from the sideline.
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