Tennessee’s offense lost its edge in a hurry Saturday when true freshman quarterback Faizon Brandon went down with what appeared to be a shoulder injury, and the whole feel of the game changed with him.
Brandon, 18, had been living up to the hype through his first three games, which made him a tough problem for Texas in Week 4. Tennessee had already opened with a field goal and then stalled on its second drive, but the Vols seemed to be settling in before the injury hit and drained the building.
Texas linebacker Rasheem Biles brought Brandon down on a play that did not look dirty. If anything, it seemed like Brandon may have landed on top of his offensive lineman’s foot, possibly knocking the wind out of him. Still, the freshman was sent to the medical tent and was visibly hurting, holding the collar of his jersey to keep weight off his shoulder.
Backup George MacIntyre then stepped in, and Texas edge rusher Colin Simmons immediately put him on the ground. Kirk Herbstreit made it clear where things were headed, saying, "He does not have the athletic ability to get out of there," about Tennessee’s backup quarterback.
Texas was already up seven when Brandon exited, and the injury felt like a turning point that could let the Longhorns run away with it. But two plays into the next Texas possession, Arch Manning tried to hit Cam Coleman deep and Tennessee defensive back Kayin Lee picked it off.
Even with that stop, Tennessee never got much going after Brandon left. MacIntyre finished 1 of 3 for six yards, and the Vols’ run game had no answer for Texas’ massive defensive front.
Nobody wants to see a game swing because of an injury, but that’s exactly what happened here. The loss of Brandon took the energy out of Neyland Stadium and out of Tennessee’s offense, and it gave Texas a real opening to turn a top-15 game into something much worse.
Brandon did return after missing one drive, and Tennessee said it had evaluated his left shoulder.
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