KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Third Saturday in October is just a couple of days away, and according to reports from On3, Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel will start George MacIntyre at quarterback for the second consecutive week.
On Wednesday night’s initial SEC availability report, Faizon Brandon was listed as questionable. Brandon didn’t see any snaps last week at Arkansas, and was there for “emergency” purposes only. MacIntyre threw 18 for 29 for 247 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. MacIntyre hit DaSaahn Brame for a 68-yard catch-and-run in the fourth quarter.
“Collectively as a group, as an offensive unit, we’ve got to do a better job taking care of the ball,” Heupel said on Monday’s Mike Keith Show. “But you look at George’s performance, decisive with the football, going to the right spot, accurate, made some plays in the pocket. There’s some things that he’s got to do better. A winning performance and a lot of good to continue to grow on for him.”
Alabama will bring a huge test for MacIntyre and the offense, and the major thing to see is will the Vols finally breakthrough with a good enough passing game to back the Crimson Tide out of the box some. Arkansas came out in a 5-3 look for most of the game and made a hard effort to eliminate the effectiveness of Tennessee’s run game. No. 14 Tennessee has to be more sound this week.
“Well, in general, we had some opportunities to make some plays down the field,” Heupel said Monday afternoon. “Did at times, didn’t. There’s some things in the run game that we gotta be better at. You know, the five down look isn’t something that we haven’t seen previously before, but all in all, I think the biggest thing offensively for us is, you know, how do we not change the situation on our own? And that’s, you know, missed assignment, it’s penalties, where we’re playing behind the sticks.”
The Third Saturday in October kicks off at 3:30 p.m. ET at Neyland Stadium. The game will be nationally televised on ABC. Sean McDonough (Play-by-Play) will be on the call with Greg McElroy (Analyst), and Katie George (Sideline Reporter).
