With him being a Volunteer through and through, you just knew this victory was going to be oh so special for Tennessee quarterback George MacIntyre. Getting his second-career start for the team he watched growing up in Franklin, Tenn., MacIntyre was able to do enough to help the No. 14 Vols take down No. 6 Alabama.
Scenes of MacIntyre getting lifted up by Tennessee fans after the final whistle sure was great to see. And as you probably could have imagined, the smile on G-Mac's face wasn't going anywhere while he was talking to the media shortly after the final whistle.
"Yeah, this was a dream come true for sure," MacIntyre said. "Just being out there, the amount of gratitude I had to be a Vol and play against Bama. Growing up, I always circled this date on the calendar. You'd wake up early, watch GameDay all day, and then turn on the Tennessee-Alabama game. Just glad we could come out and get a win for our fans and our state."
George MacIntyre quite literally lived his dream by helping Tennessee take down Alabama
Does anyone else remember when they were kids playing some backyard football? You'd probably imagine you were your favorite quarterback, leading your favorite team to a huge win over a big-time rival. Such was the case for MacIntyre, as he spent most of his fall weekends as a little boy watching the Vols, and counting down the days for UT to go head-to-head with Bama.
Fast forward to Week 7, and head man Josh Heupel decided to stick with MacIntyre as his QB1 despite 5-star freshman Faizon Brandon being healthy enough to play. Leading up to Saturday, Brandon was removed from the injury report, fully healed from his shoulder injury. Despite that, MacIntyre got the nod, and he looked great at times in this one.
boom. pic.twitter.com/50z10k8aRL
— Tennessee Football (@Vol_Football) October 18, 2026
Sure, there were some mistakes, including his first-half interception that helped Alabama put three points up on the board. However, MacIntyre ended up completing 21-of-31 pass attempts for 197 yards. That's not going to get him in the SEC Player of the Week conversation, but it was enough to help the Vols beat one of the top teams in the country.
Seeing countless cigars getting lit in the stands and on the field? Tennessee fans were overcome with emotion themselves on seeing Tennessee humble Kalen DeBoer and the Crimson Tide a bit. Again, that's something that's going to mean everything to MacIntyre, especially since he played a big part in making this happen.
We're going to continue to tip our cap to running back DeSean Bishop, as his 159 yards and two scores made the difference for the Vols. That's exactly what you'd expect out of a senior leader, with Bishop answering the call in a huge way.
For a youngster like MacIntyre, the nerves for such a heavyweight fight like this could have forced him to make silly errors, but he was careful and played smart. Because of that, he's made so many people back home in Franklin proud, and that feeling is shared by thousands across the entire state.
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