It wasn't pretty at all, but Tennessee is now 4-1 on the season after managing to scrape out a win that was closer than it needed to be against Auburn and Alex Golesh. In the second half, the ground game helped wake up the offense, which paved the way for the Vols to record the 24-14 victory. Next up is Arkansas in Week 6, but who will be the starting quarterback for that one?
That's going to be a major talking point throughout next week, as Josh Heupel decided to bench true freshman quarterback Faizon Brandon after he had a terrible first half facing Tim Banks' defense.
We cover that and much more in our winners and losers piece, with the Vols' 5-star freshman starting us off, but not in a good way.
Faizon Brandon (loser) is going to want to forget this game ASAP
There's nothing positive that can be said about Brandon's performance. Before Heupel pulled him out of the action, the true freshman was 3-of-8 passing for zero yards and an interception. His confidence was quite clearly at an all-time low, which was brutal to see.
Brandon was way off his game in the loss to Texas, and it simply carried over against the Tigers. Moving forward, it's totally up in the air if he'll be QB1 or not against the Razorbacks, but that will be on Heupel to make that difficult call.
DeSean Bishop (winner) had a career-best day to save Tennessee
With the passing game being non-existent for Tennessee, the rushing attack had to deliver in this one. Enter DeSean Bishop. After being held in check by the Longhorns last week, Bishop bounced back in a major way against the Tigers for a career-best day - and boy, was it needed.
On the day, the power back finished with 34 carries for 220 yards and three touchdowns. Bishop even had another score taken back (more on that below), but it doesn't take away from him putting this offense on his back and carrying them to a win. The 220 yards are a new career-high for him after he set his new mark against Georgia Tech (147 yards).
Braylon Staley (loser) had a game-changing mistake that didn't haunt Tennessee
Perhaps no one will be more relieved about this victory that stud wideout Braylon Staley. In the first half, Bishop broke free for a 40-yard touchdown to give the Tennessee offense some life. However, it was called back due to a brutal mistake from Staley.
He was called for an illegal block in the back, as he sprinted his way into an Auburn defensive back in wild fashion for a move that looked pretty darn silly. Add in the fact that Staley only had three receptions for eight yards and it made his day worse. Luckily, however, it came in a win and not a loss.
Dejuan Lane (winner) was a defensive force for the Vols
While normally we're going to give our defensive game ball to Arion Carter, an exception needs to be made and for good reason. Defensive back Dejuan Lane had himself a GAME against Auburn, coming up huge several times for new defensive coordinator Jim Knowles.
In the second half alone, Lane had a timely interception, which helped open the door for Bishop to score on a 44-yard touchown. A little later in the half, he added a sack of Brown too. Lane was flying all over the field and he was playing on a different level. Give this man his flowers, he deserves them.
Alex Golesh (loser) tried to get too cute vs. Josh Heupel and it backfired
This game was there for the taking and it's a loss that's going to keep Auburn fans up at night. That's nothing for the Tennessee faithful to worry about, but man, what was Alex Golesh thinking midway through the fourth quarter on 4th-and-1?
Deep in his own territory, Golesh could have called for a tush-push with Byrum Brown, a 6-foot-3, 235-pound dual-threat quarterback, but instead a pitch came in and the Vols stuffed it. What?! Hey, we won't complain about it, but Tennessee closed the lights out soon after with yet another Bishop score.
George MacIntyre (winner) waited for his shot and helped the Vols come out on top
His stats are not going to jump off the page at all, but MacIntyre, who lost the QB1 battle in fall camp, stepped in when his number was called and he delivered for the Vols. Again, Brandon had a nightmare performance, but G-Mac completed 8-of-10 passes for 86 yards.
Was he perfect? Heck no, and he didn't take any big-time shots either. But MacIntyre never hung his head after being named the backup and he made sure he was more than ready for this moment. He deserves a ton of praise for always keeping the right attitude. And moving forward, there's a chance he could end up starting against Arkansas too.
Add us as a preferred source on Google