You've got to feel terrible for freshman quarterback Faizon Brandon, but what Tennessee fans saw out of the youngster in the first half was downright terrible. It led to head man Josh Heupel shocking us all quite a bit, with him benching Brandon late in the first half in favor of George MacIntyre. Wow.
Right after Auburn scored a go-ahead touchdown, Brandon looked like he was getting ready to take the field again, but it was G-Mac who took over the offense. Before getting pulled, Brandon was 3-of-8 on his pass attempts for zero yards and an interception. With his body language being terrible on the sideline too (he was down in the dumps), Heupel was really left with no choice.
Tennessee inserts backup QB George McIntyre. Faizon Brandon looked rough, that's for sure. Brandon leaves the game 3-for-8 passing for literally zero yards. That's hard to do.
— Justin Hokanson (@_JHokanson) October 3, 2026
Josh Heupel benching Faizon Brandon for George MacIntyre was not what Tennessee fans saw coming
On the ESPN broadcast, right before MacIntyre took the field, sideline reporter Stormy Buonantony said that Brandon looked the most dejected she had seen him thus far this season. With a little over five minutes to go, Brandon essentially gifted Auburn with a free turnover when he had his eyes all over his pass-catcher before throwing the INT.
Not long after, Byrum Brown broke several tackles on his way to the end zone for six. Now, countless eyes are going to be on MacIntyre to see what he can do, but he quite literally could not do any worse the rest of the way than what we saw out of Brandon. Could this lead to a bit of a QB controversy for the remainder of the campaign?
We'll have to get through this game first, but Brandon just hasn't looked like himself in back-to-back weeks. The offensive line isn't doing him any favors, but the freshman just keeps on looking timid behind center. There are open chances for him to hit his receivers, but he's hesitating a bit with the ball in his hands.
That was showcased in the heartbreaking 20-17 loss to Texas, and now more of the same arrived against Auburn. Heupel obviously saw that his QB was struggling, including mentally, which is why he opted to see what MacIntyre can do with the ball in his hands.
This will do nothing to help Brandon's confidence moving forward, but when you complete three passes for zero yards before getting yanked, it's just not good enough - and no one can be upset with Heupel for making the call here, especially with the Tennessee defense continuing to shine so bright.
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