If anything, Josh Heupel loves being consistent with keeping everyone guessing when it comes to his starting quarterback situation entering a new week. If I were a betting man, I'd assume that George MacIntyre, who is 3-1 since taking over for Faizon Brandon (including the Auburn win), is a lock to start against No. 8 Kentucky this weekend.
Don't tell that to Heupel, who still isn't sure who's going to lead the offense out onto the field. If you ask the veteran head coach about who's going to be QB1, he has continued to say that he's going to see how things play out in practice leading up to kickoff. More of the same was on the way while discussing Saturday's upcoming heavyweight battle with Kentucky. Come on, man...
Josh Heupel is refusing to confirm who his starting quarterback is vs. Kentucky seems silly
Call it mind games, maybe, but do we really think that Kentucky head coach Will Stein is going to fall for this? As has been the case over the past month or so, it's safe to assume that Heupel is going to communicate the game plan to both MacIntyre and 5-star freshman Brandon early in the week, and then leak the news to Pete Thamel/Chris Low on Thursday or Friday.
Still, why not just get it out of the way early so there's no uncertainty out there, and the Vols can just focus on the task at hand in taking down a Top 10 team? There's got to be a method to Heupel's madness, but I just don't get it. Hey, I'm not being paid millions of dollars a year, though, so if Heupel wants to roll this way, so be it.
Josh Heupel says he'll see how practice goes this week before naming a starting quarterback.
— GoVols247 (@GoVols247) November 2, 2026
None of this will matter if the Vols can land a proverbial haymaker on the Wildcats at Neyland Stadium on Saturday night. In a bit of a surprise, Tennessee opened as a 5.5-point favorite, but that number has since jumped up to 6.5. With Tennessee 8-2 in the last 10 meetings, it's clear this has been a one-sided rivalry of late.
Throw that out the window, though, as the Wildcats have been a force this season, with one foot in the CFP for 2026. However, the Vols can totally flip the script there by taking down Kentucky, while also improving their CFP chances as well. For that to happen, G-Mac has to ball out, while DeSean Bishop will need to carry the rushing attack, too.
With the greatest of respect for Brandon here, there's simply no world where he should return to the field for the first time since the Auburn game to take on a Top 10 team. It just makes no sense to bring him back when he's rusty to face one of the top SEC teams out there.
Let MacIntyre keep building his confidence, with the hope that he'll show some improvement in throwing the ball around a little bit as well. This is going to be a tough meeting for the Vols, and it will only get more complicated if he even thinks about rocking with Brandon over MacIntyre. Heupel is smart enough to not drive down that road.
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