A View from Big Ben: Auburn

[London Vol]

GAME 5 – Auburn

Last weekend’s loss was really weird, to lose to the No 1 team in the country by 3 points and that was only on the last play, whilst shutting down a high profile and expensive Offense, should have been cause to celebrate, but with the O`Line being frighteningly bad and Faizon Brandon reminding everybody he is a true Freshman (don’t panic he is going to be a really good one) I found myself hugely disappointed.

So, we already move onto Game 5 and as we all know predicting College Football games is a mugs game. But as we stand today, I believe the O`Line will need to drastically improve (I have little belief that this will actually happen) for us to beat Alabama or LSU and even A&M will be tough as it is in College Station. So therefore, a decent season from here would be 8-4 and to achieve that Tennessee will need to beat Georgia Tech (job done), Auburn, Kentucky and South Carolina. Hence this weekend’s game is really important. this was written on Friday

Match Prediction
I expect the Offense will want to prove Volnation that they are better than they seem and Auburn is not Texas, so my prediction is Final Score: 27-17.


QUARTERBACKS F - and A -
I thought last week Faizon Brandon got a lot of unfair blame for the Texas loss but last night there was no hiding he looked shell shocked, really short of confidence and probably “banged up”; it was the right call to pull him before he completely lost the game. Anybody who throws more INTS (1) than passing yards (0) gets an F -. However, George MacIntyre was excellent including the play of the day when he hit Mike Matthews with a huge 42-yard pass into a tight window which kick started Tennessee’s momentum. Even though he only threw for 86 yards he deserves his grade of A -. I would also like to say I did not think MacIntyre was this good and he did not let his head drop and sulk after losing the job before the season, I am delighted to be proved wrong.

RUNNING BACKS A
I suppose wearing headwear that resembled leather straps it was appropriate that Tennessee won this game by playing “old school football” of run, run and run.
DeSean Bishop what a player, after a couple of quiet weeks he burst out with 220 yards and 3 TDs and most of this was in the 2nd Half when the game was very much on the line. Daune Morris again looked good but Bishop was the star.

WIDE RECEIVERS C +
With under 100 yards passing it was not going to be a highlight night for the WRs but there wasn’t many obvious bad moments and the Mike Matthews 42 reception was huge. Brandon Staley continues to be quiet, and he also had what I thought at the time was a “back breaking”. OPI wiping out a Bishop TD and an early 10-0 lead. I’m also not sold on Radarious Jackson as WR3 and maybe it is time to allow TK Keys to take his Freshman lumps, as his upside is far superior to that of Jackson`s.

TIGHT ENDS B -
So, it is becoming clear that this season the TE Unit without Ethan Davis is excellent at run blocking but non-existent in the passing game and DaShaan Brame epitomises this.

OFFENSIVE LINE B
For a patchwork O`Line I thought they were surprisingly OK. I am not great at studying individual performances on the O`Line so I tend to go out of focus slightly and just try to see the overall image, it didn’t seem bad last night and as the game wore on the running game took over and they were starting to dominate the line. Perhaps Strength Coach Owings is quietly doing a good job.



JIM KNOWLES A +
I have for some time had Rodney Garner as one of my favourite coaches but Jim Knowles has already surpassed him and with these two together our front Seven is the best I have seen since “I found” the Vols in 2009. When the season reviews are written we will look back and think “what could we have achieved if we had had a decent Offense in 2026? I am fast running out of superlatives to describe what this guy is doing.

DEFENSIVE LINE A +
Don’t be confused with the amount of yards given up (345) this was an outstanding Defensive performance as they answered the bell time and time again to stop Auburn whilst the Offense moved less than an Asthmatic Ant
I believe they are the No 1 in SACKs in the country and to think I thought this was perceived as our weakest link after the Coleman fiasco.
Again there were big performances everywhere, but this week I would like to single out Mariyon Dye who had a big FF whilst being disruptive on many occasions. But as I said there were a number of people who also deserved a mention.

LINEBACKERS A +
These guys were immense again, Amare Campbell and Arion Carter had the most highlights, but all the others put in big moments. I loved to see the reaction from Jeremiah Telander on the sideline after another big stop. I hope Coach Inge feels a little bit better this morning after watching “his boys” doing him proud.

DEFENSIVE BACKS A
Dejuan Lane 9 tackles, 2 SACKS, 2½ TFLs, 1 INT and 1 QBH, I am surprised he didn’t paint the endzone at Half Time as he was doing everything else. It’s hard to beat out a RB who posts 68% of the total Offense but Lane just may have got MOM. Ty Redmond again looks All SEC standard. I was pleased for Tevis Metcalf for getting the INT to “ice the game” as he had one or two awkward moments replacing Qua Moss.


MAN OF THE MATCH
I tossed the coin and gave it to DeSean Bishop as we simply wouldn’t have won without him.

OVERVIEW
Any SEC win and against a middle ranking opponent is good night, but in the long run I wonder that if a 300 yard performance from Brandon and a loss would have been better for the overall picture of the program going forward as we now have a QB controversy that will last all season.





GO VOLS

 

[feathersax]

GAME 5 – Auburn

Last weekend’s loss was really weird, to lose to the No 1 team in the country by 3 points and that was only on the last play, whilst shutting down a high profile and expensive Offense, should have been cause to celebrate, but with the O`Line being frighteningly bad and Faizon Brandon reminding everybody he is a true Freshman (don’t panic he is going to be a really good one) I found myself hugely disappointed.

So, we already move onto Game 5 and as we all know predicting College Football games is a mugs game. But as we stand today, I believe the O`Line will need to drastically improve (I have little belief that this will actually happen) for us to beat Alabama or LSU and even A&M will be tough as it is in College Station. So therefore, a decent season from here would be 8-4 and to achieve that Tennessee will need to beat Georgia Tech (job done), Auburn, Kentucky and South Carolina. Hence this weekend’s game is really important. this was written on Friday

Match Prediction
I expect the Offense will want to prove Volnation that they are better than they seem and Auburn is not Texas, so my prediction is Final Score: 27-17.


QUARTERBACKS F - and A -
I thought last week Faizon Brandon got a lot of unfair blame for the Texas loss but last night there was no hiding he looked shell shocked, really short of confidence and probably “banged up”; it was the right call to pull him before he completely lost the game. Anybody who throws more INTS (1) than passing yards (0) gets an F -. However, George MacIntyre was excellent including the play of the day when he hit Mike Matthews with a huge 42-yard pass into a tight window which kick started Tennessee’s momentum. Even though he only threw for 86 yards he deserves his grade of A -. I would also like to say I did not think MacIntyre was this good and he did not let his head drop and sulk after losing the job before the season, I am delighted to be proved wrong.

RUNNING BACKS A
I suppose wearing headwear that resembled leather straps it was appropriate that Tennessee won this game by playing “old school football” of run, run and run.
DeSean Bishop what a player, after a couple of quiet weeks he burst out with 220 yards and 3 TDs and most of this was in the 2nd Half when the game was very much on the line. Daune Morris again looked good but Bishop was the star.

WIDE RECEIVERS C +
With under 100 yards passing it was not going to be a highlight night for the WRs but there wasn’t many obvious bad moments and the Mike Matthews 42 reception was huge. Brandon Staley continues to be quiet, and he also had what I thought at the time was a “back breaking”. OPI wiping out a Bishop TD and an early 10-0 lead. I’m also not sold on Radarious Jackson as WR3 and maybe it is time to allow TK Keys to take his Freshman lumps, as his upside is far superior to that of Jackson`s.

TIGHT ENDS B -
So, it is becoming clear that this season the TE Unit without Ethan Davis is excellent at run blocking but non-existent in the passing game and DaShaan Brame epitomises this.

OFFENSIVE LINE B
For a patchwork O`Line I thought they were surprisingly OK. I am not great at studying individual performances on the O`Line so I tend to go out of focus slightly and just try to see the overall image, it didn’t seem bad last night and as the game wore on the running game took over and they were starting to dominate the line. Perhaps Strength Coach Owings is quietly doing a good job.



JIM KNOWLES A +
I have for some time had Rodney Garner as one of my favourite coaches but Jim Knowles has already surpassed him and with these two together our front Seven is the best I have seen since “I found” the Vols in 2009. When the season reviews are written we will look back and think “what could we have achieved if we had had a decent Offense in 2026? I am fast running out of superlatives to describe what this guy is doing.

DEFENSIVE LINE A +
Don’t be confused with the amount of yards given up (345) this was an outstanding Defensive performance as they answered the bell time and time again to stop Auburn whilst the Offense moved less than an Asthmatic Ant
I believe they are the No 1 in SACKs in the country and to think I thought this was perceived as our weakest link after the Coleman fiasco.
Again there were big performances everywhere, but this week I would like to single out Mariyon Dye who had a big FF whilst being disruptive on many occasions. But as I said there were a number of people who also deserved a mention.

LINEBACKERS A +
These guys were immense again, Amare Campbell and Arion Carter had the most highlights, but all the others put in big moments. I loved to see the reaction from Jeremiah Telander on the sideline after another big stop. I hope Coach Inge feels a little bit better this morning after watching “his boys” doing him proud.

DEFENSIVE BACKS A
Dejuan Lane 9 tackles, 2 SACKS, 2½ TFLs, 1 INT and 1 QBH, I am surprised he didn’t paint the endzone at Half Time as he was doing everything else. It’s hard to beat out a RB who posts 68% of the total Offense but Lane just may have got MOM. Ty Redmond again looks All SEC standard. I was pleased for Tevis Metcalf for getting the INT to “ice the game” as he had one or two awkward moments replacing Qua Moss.


MAN OF THE MATCH
I tossed the coin and gave it to DeSean Bishop as we simply wouldn’t have won without him.

OVERVIEW
Any SEC win and against a middle ranking opponent is good night, but in the long run I wonder that if a 300 yard performance from Brandon and a loss would have been better for the overall picture of the program going forward as we now have a QB controversy that will last all season.





GO VOLS

For a fellow so far way who's not even been to Knoxville, you have the knack for accuracry concerning our Tennessee Volunteers. It's an old axiom: Defense wins championships...but it's quite true. Your statement concerning Coach Jim Knowles I am fast running out of superlatives to describe what this guy is doing, is spot on! It was clear that Brandon was injured, but thankfully George McIntyre received lots of snaps during practice this past week. Result? He came into the game Saturday ready to compete & do his job. We have two potential all-star QBs in Faizon & George. I really was impressed by the contributions of guys like

Nathan Robinson, Dejuan Lane, Joel Wyatt & others who made big plays & have worked hard without all the hoopla. They are true VOLUNTEERS.

 

[London Vol]

For a fellow so far way who's not even been to Knoxville, you have the knack for accuracry concerning our Tennessee Volunteers. It's an old axiom: Defense wins championships...but it's quite true. Your statement concerning Coach Jim Knowles I am fast running out of superlatives to describe what this guy is doing, is spot on! It was clear that Brandon was injured, but thankfully George McIntyre received lots of snaps during practice this past week. Result? He came into the game Saturday ready to compete & do his job. We have two potential all-star QBs in Faizon & George. I really was impressed by the contributions of guys like

Nathan Robinson, Dejuan Lane, Joel Wyatt & others who made big plays & have worked hard without all the hoopla. They are true VOLUNTEERS.

Hi feathersax great points from you as always, I confess I didn't notice Wyatt but the others were prominent..

There was another point I would like to make, and I want to clarify i am not trying to start a controversy but has the team got a problem with Faizon Brandon? because

1) I was concerned to see in the Texas game that having been "splattered" many times no O`Liner seemed pick Brandon up (this is as you know normal protocol for the big uglies helping their man up after a busted play).
2) Also, WRs shaking their heads after completing their routes when the ball did not arrive. Try doing that to Tom Brady or Patrick Mahomes

Now I hear that Brandon is a good kid, he doesn't have an over inflated ego and works really hard but if the feeling in the locker room is that Macintyre should be QB1 then these two minor but important points pop up.

As I said I hope I am over reaching as I still think when both Brandon and Macintyre finish their College Football careers, it will be Brandon with the better one. but it was just a couple of small observations I have noticed the last two weeks.

 

[cherokeeeVOL]

I just hope the offense can put it together and not waste one of the better defenses we’ve had in years. It’s frustrating to me that we always have only one side of the ball playing at a high level and the other just falls apart.

 

[Sivad]

I believe G Mac will be the starter next game and if he performs well there will be no qb controversy till he falters. Good to hear from you LV always enjoy your post. Wish we heard from you more

 

[DonDiego]

Hi feathersax great points from you as always, I confess I didn't notice Wyatt but the others were prominent..

There was another point I would like to make, and I want to clarify i am not trying to start a controversy but has the team got a problem with Faizon Brandon? because

1) I was concerned to see in the Texas game that having been "splattered" many times no O`Liner seemed pick Brandon up (this is as you know normal protocol for the big uglies helping their man up after a busted play).
2) Also, WRs shaking their heads after completing their routes when the ball did not arrive. Try doing that to Tom Brady or Patrick Mahomes

Now I hear that Brandon is a good kid, he doesn't have an over inflated ego and works really hard but if the feeling in the locker room is that Macintyre should be QB1 then these two minor but important points pop up.

As I said I hope I am over reaching as I still think when both Brandon and Macintyre finish their College Football careers, it will be Brandon with the better one. but it was just a couple of small observations I have noticed the last two weeks.

Dude, where you been?

 

[AdoptedVOL]

Was the coin toss between Lane and Bishop?

 

[feathersax]

Hi feathersax great points from you as always, I confess I didn't notice Wyatt but the others were prominent..

There was another point I would like to make, and I want to clarify i am not trying to start a controversy but has the team got a problem with Faizon Brandon? because

1) I was concerned to see in the Texas game that having been "splattered" many times no O`Liner seemed pick Brandon up (this is as you know normal protocol for the big uglies helping their man up after a busted play).
2) Also, WRs shaking their heads after completing their routes when the ball did not arrive. Try doing that to Tom Brady or Patrick Mahomes

Now I hear that Brandon is a good kid, he doesn't have an over inflated ego and works really hard but if the feeling in the locker room is that Macintyre should be QB1 then these two minor but important points pop up.

As I said I hope I am over reaching as I still think when both Brandon and Macintyre finish their College Football careers, it will be Brandon with the better one. but it was just a couple of small observations I have noticed the last two weeks.

Joel Wyatt was a beast on Special Teams Saturday, covering punt returns with his great speed & energy. 2-3 times Joel was right in the face of the Auburn returner, keeping them bottled up when Jordan Ross's punts boomed deep down the field. He was also a track star in high school. A fresshman with great upside.

 

[London Vol]

Joel Wyatt was a beast on Special Teams Saturday, covering punt returns with his great speed & energy. 2-3 times Joel was right in the face of the Auburn returner, keeping them bottled up when Jordan Ross's punts boomed deep down the field. He was also a track star in high school. A fresshman with great upside.

Great spot the Special Teams were excellent I just didnt catch the numbers

I believe G Mac will be the starter next game and if he performs well there will be no qb controversy till he falters. Good to hear from you LV always enjoy your post. Wish we heard from you more

Dude, where you been?

Thank you both

 

[Rickyvol77]

GAME 5 – Auburn

Last weekend’s loss was really weird, to lose to the No 1 team in the country by 3 points and that was only on the last play, whilst shutting down a high profile and expensive Offense, should have been cause to celebrate, but with the O`Line being frighteningly bad and Faizon Brandon reminding everybody he is a true Freshman (don’t panic he is going to be a really good one) I found myself hugely disappointed.

So, we already move onto Game 5 and as we all know predicting College Football games is a mugs game. But as we stand today, I believe the O`Line will need to drastically improve (I have little belief that this will actually happen) for us to beat Alabama or LSU and even A&M will be tough as it is in College Station. So therefore, a decent season from here would be 8-4 and to achieve that Tennessee will need to beat Georgia Tech (job done), Auburn, Kentucky and South Carolina. Hence this weekend’s game is really important. this was written on Friday

Match Prediction
I expect the Offense will want to prove Volnation that they are better than they seem and Auburn is not Texas, so my prediction is Final Score: 27-17.


QUARTERBACKS F - and A -
I thought last week Faizon Brandon got a lot of unfair blame for the Texas loss but last night there was no hiding he looked shell shocked, really short of confidence and probably “banged up”; it was the right call to pull him before he completely lost the game. Anybody who throws more INTS (1) than passing yards (0) gets an F -. However, George MacIntyre was excellent including the play of the day when he hit Mike Matthews with a huge 42-yard pass into a tight window which kick started Tennessee’s momentum. Even though he only threw for 86 yards he deserves his grade of A -. I would also like to say I did not think MacIntyre was this good and he did not let his head drop and sulk after losing the job before the season, I am delighted to be proved wrong.

RUNNING BACKS A
I suppose wearing headwear that resembled leather straps it was appropriate that Tennessee won this game by playing “old school football” of run, run and run.
DeSean Bishop what a player, after a couple of quiet weeks he burst out with 220 yards and 3 TDs and most of this was in the 2nd Half when the game was very much on the line. Daune Morris again looked good but Bishop was the star.

WIDE RECEIVERS C +
With under 100 yards passing it was not going to be a highlight night for the WRs but there wasn’t many obvious bad moments and the Mike Matthews 42 reception was huge. Brandon Staley continues to be quiet, and he also had what I thought at the time was a “back breaking”. OPI wiping out a Bishop TD and an early 10-0 lead. I’m also not sold on Radarious Jackson as WR3 and maybe it is time to allow TK Keys to take his Freshman lumps, as his upside is far superior to that of Jackson`s.

TIGHT ENDS B -
So, it is becoming clear that this season the TE Unit without Ethan Davis is excellent at run blocking but non-existent in the passing game and DaShaan Brame epitomises this.

OFFENSIVE LINE B
For a patchwork O`Line I thought they were surprisingly OK. I am not great at studying individual performances on the O`Line so I tend to go out of focus slightly and just try to see the overall image, it didn’t seem bad last night and as the game wore on the running game took over and they were starting to dominate the line. Perhaps Strength Coach Owings is quietly doing a good job.



JIM KNOWLES A +
I have for some time had Rodney Garner as one of my favourite coaches but Jim Knowles has already surpassed him and with these two together our front Seven is the best I have seen since “I found” the Vols in 2009. When the season reviews are written we will look back and think “what could we have achieved if we had had a decent Offense in 2026? I am fast running out of superlatives to describe what this guy is doing.

DEFENSIVE LINE A +
Don’t be confused with the amount of yards given up (345) this was an outstanding Defensive performance as they answered the bell time and time again to stop Auburn whilst the Offense moved less than an Asthmatic Ant
I believe they are the No 1 in SACKs in the country and to think I thought this was perceived as our weakest link after the Coleman fiasco.
Again there were big performances everywhere, but this week I would like to single out Mariyon Dye who had a big FF whilst being disruptive on many occasions. But as I said there were a number of people who also deserved a mention.

LINEBACKERS A +
These guys were immense again, Amare Campbell and Arion Carter had the most highlights, but all the others put in big moments. I loved to see the reaction from Jeremiah Telander on the sideline after another big stop. I hope Coach Inge feels a little bit better this morning after watching “his boys” doing him proud.

DEFENSIVE BACKS A
Dejuan Lane 9 tackles, 2 SACKS, 2½ TFLs, 1 INT and 1 QBH, I am surprised he didn’t paint the endzone at Half Time as he was doing everything else. It’s hard to beat out a RB who posts 68% of the total Offense but Lane just may have got MOM. Ty Redmond again looks All SEC standard. I was pleased for Tevis Metcalf for getting the INT to “ice the game” as he had one or two awkward moments replacing Qua Moss.


MAN OF THE MATCH
I tossed the coin and gave it to DeSean Bishop as we simply wouldn’t have won without him.

OVERVIEW
Any SEC win and against a middle ranking opponent is good night, but in the long run I wonder that if a 300 yard performance from Brandon and a loss would have been better for the overall picture of the program going forward as we now have a QB controversy that will last all season.





GO VOLS

Nailed it as always brother

 

[volman19701]

I believe G Mac will be the starter next game and if he performs well there will be no qb controversy till he falters. Good to hear from you LV always enjoy your post. Wish we heard from you more

Don’t get too excited because we are playing Arkansas and they are 15th in the league above South Carolina

 

[Hunter10139]

I love these write-ups, thanks for putting them together after each game.

 

[walkenvol]

To get an A+ rating, the LB’s would have had to contain the Auburn QB running. On several of his long scrambles our LB’s were positioned to make the tackle but didn’t. I’d give them an A- or B+. JMO

 

[Unconditional Surrender]

GAME 5 – Auburn

Last weekend’s loss was really weird, to lose to the No 1 team in the country by 3 points and that was only on the last play, whilst shutting down a high profile and expensive Offense, should have been cause to celebrate, but with the O`Line being frighteningly bad and Faizon Brandon reminding everybody he is a true Freshman (don’t panic he is going to be a really good one) I found myself hugely disappointed.

So, we already move onto Game 5 and as we all know predicting College Football games is a mugs game. But as we stand today, I believe the O`Line will need to drastically improve (I have little belief that this will actually happen) for us to beat Alabama or LSU and even A&M will be tough as it is in College Station. So therefore, a decent season from here would be 8-4 and to achieve that Tennessee will need to beat Georgia Tech (job done), Auburn, Kentucky and South Carolina. Hence this weekend’s game is really important. this was written on Friday

Match Prediction
I expect the Offense will want to prove Volnation that they are better than they seem and Auburn is not Texas, so my prediction is Final Score: 27-17.


QUARTERBACKS F - and A -
I thought last week Faizon Brandon got a lot of unfair blame for the Texas loss but last night there was no hiding he looked shell shocked, really short of confidence and probably “banged up”; it was the right call to pull him before he completely lost the game. Anybody who throws more INTS (1) than passing yards (0) gets an F -. However, George MacIntyre was excellent including the play of the day when he hit Mike Matthews with a huge 42-yard pass into a tight window which kick started Tennessee’s momentum. Even though he only threw for 86 yards he deserves his grade of A -. I would also like to say I did not think MacIntyre was this good and he did not let his head drop and sulk after losing the job before the season, I am delighted to be proved wrong.

RUNNING BACKS A
I suppose wearing headwear that resembled leather straps it was appropriate that Tennessee won this game by playing “old school football” of run, run and run.
DeSean Bishop what a player, after a couple of quiet weeks he burst out with 220 yards and 3 TDs and most of this was in the 2nd Half when the game was very much on the line. Daune Morris again looked good but Bishop was the star.

WIDE RECEIVERS C +
With under 100 yards passing it was not going to be a highlight night for the WRs but there wasn’t many obvious bad moments and the Mike Matthews 42 reception was huge. Brandon Staley continues to be quiet, and he also had what I thought at the time was a “back breaking”. OPI wiping out a Bishop TD and an early 10-0 lead. I’m also not sold on Radarious Jackson as WR3 and maybe it is time to allow TK Keys to take his Freshman lumps, as his upside is far superior to that of Jackson`s.

TIGHT ENDS B -
So, it is becoming clear that this season the TE Unit without Ethan Davis is excellent at run blocking but non-existent in the passing game and DaShaan Brame epitomises this.

OFFENSIVE LINE B
For a patchwork O`Line I thought they were surprisingly OK. I am not great at studying individual performances on the O`Line so I tend to go out of focus slightly and just try to see the overall image, it didn’t seem bad last night and as the game wore on the running game took over and they were starting to dominate the line. Perhaps Strength Coach Owings is quietly doing a good job.



JIM KNOWLES A +
I have for some time had Rodney Garner as one of my favourite coaches but Jim Knowles has already surpassed him and with these two together our front Seven is the best I have seen since “I found” the Vols in 2009. When the season reviews are written we will look back and think “what could we have achieved if we had had a decent Offense in 2026? I am fast running out of superlatives to describe what this guy is doing.

DEFENSIVE LINE A +
Don’t be confused with the amount of yards given up (345) this was an outstanding Defensive performance as they answered the bell time and time again to stop Auburn whilst the Offense moved less than an Asthmatic Ant
I believe they are the No 1 in SACKs in the country and to think I thought this was perceived as our weakest link after the Coleman fiasco.
Again there were big performances everywhere, but this week I would like to single out Mariyon Dye who had a big FF whilst being disruptive on many occasions. But as I said there were a number of people who also deserved a mention.

LINEBACKERS A +
These guys were immense again, Amare Campbell and Arion Carter had the most highlights, but all the others put in big moments. I loved to see the reaction from Jeremiah Telander on the sideline after another big stop. I hope Coach Inge feels a little bit better this morning after watching “his boys” doing him proud.

DEFENSIVE BACKS A
Dejuan Lane 9 tackles, 2 SACKS, 2½ TFLs, 1 INT and 1 QBH, I am surprised he didn’t paint the endzone at Half Time as he was doing everything else. It’s hard to beat out a RB who posts 68% of the total Offense but Lane just may have got MOM. Ty Redmond again looks All SEC standard. I was pleased for Tevis Metcalf for getting the INT to “ice the game” as he had one or two awkward moments replacing Qua Moss.


MAN OF THE MATCH
I tossed the coin and gave it to DeSean Bishop as we simply wouldn’t have won without him.

OVERVIEW
Any SEC win and against a middle ranking opponent is good night, but in the long run I wonder that if a 300 yard performance from Brandon and a loss would have been better for the overall picture of the program going forward as we now have a QB controversy that will last all season.





GO VOLS

I agree with everything but the overview. There is not controversy right now. Arkansas is a great first full game for G-Mac.

 

[Unconditional Surrender]

Lane and Gilliam are absolute studs.

 

[VolJarhead]

To get an A+ rating, the LB’s would have had to contain the Auburn QB running. On several of his long scrambles our LB’s were positioned to make the tackle but didn’t. I’d give them an A- or B+. JMO

You may be right or the defensive plan may have been to allow him his highlights to shut something else down such as passing lanes. Who knows for certain? I love the defense.

 

[ftsandersvol]

GAME 5 – Auburn

Last weekend’s loss was really weird, to lose to the No 1 team in the country by 3 points and that was only on the last play, whilst shutting down a high profile and expensive Offense, should have been cause to celebrate, but with the O`Line being frighteningly bad and Faizon Brandon reminding everybody he is a true Freshman (don’t panic he is going to be a really good one) I found myself hugely disappointed.

So, we already move onto Game 5 and as we all know predicting College Football games is a mugs game. But as we stand today, I believe the O`Line will need to drastically improve (I have little belief that this will actually happen) for us to beat Alabama or LSU and even A&M will be tough as it is in College Station. So therefore, a decent season from here would be 8-4 and to achieve that Tennessee will need to beat Georgia Tech (job done), Auburn, Kentucky and South Carolina. Hence this weekend’s game is really important. this was written on Friday

Match Prediction
I expect the Offense will want to prove Volnation that they are better than they seem and Auburn is not Texas, so my prediction is Final Score: 27-17.


QUARTERBACKS F - and A -
I thought last week Faizon Brandon got a lot of unfair blame for the Texas loss but last night there was no hiding he looked shell shocked, really short of confidence and probably “banged up”; it was the right call to pull him before he completely lost the game. Anybody who throws more INTS (1) than passing yards (0) gets an F -. However, George MacIntyre was excellent including the play of the day when he hit Mike Matthews with a huge 42-yard pass into a tight window which kick started Tennessee’s momentum. Even though he only threw for 86 yards he deserves his grade of A -. I would also like to say I did not think MacIntyre was this good and he did not let his head drop and sulk after losing the job before the season, I am delighted to be proved wrong.

RUNNING BACKS A
I suppose wearing headwear that resembled leather straps it was appropriate that Tennessee won this game by playing “old school football” of run, run and run.
DeSean Bishop what a player, after a couple of quiet weeks he burst out with 220 yards and 3 TDs and most of this was in the 2nd Half when the game was very much on the line. Daune Morris again looked good but Bishop was the star.

WIDE RECEIVERS C +
With under 100 yards passing it was not going to be a highlight night for the WRs but there wasn’t many obvious bad moments and the Mike Matthews 42 reception was huge. Brandon Staley continues to be quiet, and he also had what I thought at the time was a “back breaking”. OPI wiping out a Bishop TD and an early 10-0 lead. I’m also not sold on Radarious Jackson as WR3 and maybe it is time to allow TK Keys to take his Freshman lumps, as his upside is far superior to that of Jackson`s.

TIGHT ENDS B -
So, it is becoming clear that this season the TE Unit without Ethan Davis is excellent at run blocking but non-existent in the passing game and DaShaan Brame epitomises this.

OFFENSIVE LINE B
For a patchwork O`Line I thought they were surprisingly OK. I am not great at studying individual performances on the O`Line so I tend to go out of focus slightly and just try to see the overall image, it didn’t seem bad last night and as the game wore on the running game took over and they were starting to dominate the line. Perhaps Strength Coach Owings is quietly doing a good job.



JIM KNOWLES A +
I have for some time had Rodney Garner as one of my favourite coaches but Jim Knowles has already surpassed him and with these two together our front Seven is the best I have seen since “I found” the Vols in 2009. When the season reviews are written we will look back and think “what could we have achieved if we had had a decent Offense in 2026? I am fast running out of superlatives to describe what this guy is doing.

DEFENSIVE LINE A +
Don’t be confused with the amount of yards given up (345) this was an outstanding Defensive performance as they answered the bell time and time again to stop Auburn whilst the Offense moved less than an Asthmatic Ant
I believe they are the No 1 in SACKs in the country and to think I thought this was perceived as our weakest link after the Coleman fiasco.
Again there were big performances everywhere, but this week I would like to single out Mariyon Dye who had a big FF whilst being disruptive on many occasions. But as I said there were a number of people who also deserved a mention.

LINEBACKERS A +
These guys were immense again, Amare Campbell and Arion Carter had the most highlights, but all the others put in big moments. I loved to see the reaction from Jeremiah Telander on the sideline after another big stop. I hope Coach Inge feels a little bit better this morning after watching “his boys” doing him proud.

DEFENSIVE BACKS A
Dejuan Lane 9 tackles, 2 SACKS, 2½ TFLs, 1 INT and 1 QBH, I am surprised he didn’t paint the endzone at Half Time as he was doing everything else. It’s hard to beat out a RB who posts 68% of the total Offense but Lane just may have got MOM. Ty Redmond again looks All SEC standard. I was pleased for Tevis Metcalf for getting the INT to “ice the game” as he had one or two awkward moments replacing Qua Moss.


MAN OF THE MATCH
I tossed the coin and gave it to DeSean Bishop as we simply wouldn’t have won without him.

OVERVIEW
Any SEC win and against a middle ranking opponent is good night, but in the long run I wonder that if a 300 yard performance from Brandon and a loss would have been better for the overall picture of the program going forward as we now have a QB controversy that will last all season.





GO VOLS

Great job as always.

 

[Fatdad32]

GAME 5 – Auburn

Last weekend’s loss was really weird, to lose to the No 1 team in the country by 3 points and that was only on the last play, whilst shutting down a high profile and expensive Offense, should have been cause to celebrate, but with the O`Line being frighteningly bad and Faizon Brandon reminding everybody he is a true Freshman (don’t panic he is going to be a really good one) I found myself hugely disappointed.

So, we already move onto Game 5 and as we all know predicting College Football games is a mugs game. But as we stand today, I believe the O`Line will need to drastically improve (I have little belief that this will actually happen) for us to beat Alabama or LSU and even A&M will be tough as it is in College Station. So therefore, a decent season from here would be 8-4 and to achieve that Tennessee will need to beat Georgia Tech (job done), Auburn, Kentucky and South Carolina. Hence this weekend’s game is really important. this was written on Friday

Match Prediction
I expect the Offense will want to prove Volnation that they are better than they seem and Auburn is not Texas, so my prediction is Final Score: 27-17.


QUARTERBACKS F - and A -
I thought last week Faizon Brandon got a lot of unfair blame for the Texas loss but last night there was no hiding he looked shell shocked, really short of confidence and probably “banged up”; it was the right call to pull him before he completely lost the game. Anybody who throws more INTS (1) than passing yards (0) gets an F -. However, George MacIntyre was excellent including the play of the day when he hit Mike Matthews with a huge 42-yard pass into a tight window which kick started Tennessee’s momentum. Even though he only threw for 86 yards he deserves his grade of A -. I would also like to say I did not think MacIntyre was this good and he did not let his head drop and sulk after losing the job before the season, I am delighted to be proved wrong.

RUNNING BACKS A
I suppose wearing headwear that resembled leather straps it was appropriate that Tennessee won this game by playing “old school football” of run, run and run.
DeSean Bishop what a player, after a couple of quiet weeks he burst out with 220 yards and 3 TDs and most of this was in the 2nd Half when the game was very much on the line. Daune Morris again looked good but Bishop was the star.

WIDE RECEIVERS C +
With under 100 yards passing it was not going to be a highlight night for the WRs but there wasn’t many obvious bad moments and the Mike Matthews 42 reception was huge. Brandon Staley continues to be quiet, and he also had what I thought at the time was a “back breaking”. OPI wiping out a Bishop TD and an early 10-0 lead. I’m also not sold on Radarious Jackson as WR3 and maybe it is time to allow TK Keys to take his Freshman lumps, as his upside is far superior to that of Jackson`s.

TIGHT ENDS B -
So, it is becoming clear that this season the TE Unit without Ethan Davis is excellent at run blocking but non-existent in the passing game and DaShaan Brame epitomises this.

OFFENSIVE LINE B
For a patchwork O`Line I thought they were surprisingly OK. I am not great at studying individual performances on the O`Line so I tend to go out of focus slightly and just try to see the overall image, it didn’t seem bad last night and as the game wore on the running game took over and they were starting to dominate the line. Perhaps Strength Coach Owings is quietly doing a good job.



JIM KNOWLES A +
I have for some time had Rodney Garner as one of my favourite coaches but Jim Knowles has already surpassed him and with these two together our front Seven is the best I have seen since “I found” the Vols in 2009. When the season reviews are written we will look back and think “what could we have achieved if we had had a decent Offense in 2026? I am fast running out of superlatives to describe what this guy is doing.

DEFENSIVE LINE A +
Don’t be confused with the amount of yards given up (345) this was an outstanding Defensive performance as they answered the bell time and time again to stop Auburn whilst the Offense moved less than an Asthmatic Ant
I believe they are the No 1 in SACKs in the country and to think I thought this was perceived as our weakest link after the Coleman fiasco.
Again there were big performances everywhere, but this week I would like to single out Mariyon Dye who had a big FF whilst being disruptive on many occasions. But as I said there were a number of people who also deserved a mention.

LINEBACKERS A +
These guys were immense again, Amare Campbell and Arion Carter had the most highlights, but all the others put in big moments. I loved to see the reaction from Jeremiah Telander on the sideline after another big stop. I hope Coach Inge feels a little bit better this morning after watching “his boys” doing him proud.

DEFENSIVE BACKS A
Dejuan Lane 9 tackles, 2 SACKS, 2½ TFLs, 1 INT and 1 QBH, I am surprised he didn’t paint the endzone at Half Time as he was doing everything else. It’s hard to beat out a RB who posts 68% of the total Offense but Lane just may have got MOM. Ty Redmond again looks All SEC standard. I was pleased for Tevis Metcalf for getting the INT to “ice the game” as he had one or two awkward moments replacing Qua Moss.


MAN OF THE MATCH
I tossed the coin and gave it to DeSean Bishop as we simply wouldn’t have won without him.

OVERVIEW
Any SEC win and against a middle ranking opponent is good night, but in the long run I wonder that if a 300 yard performance from Brandon and a loss would have been better for the overall picture of the program going forward as we now have a QB controversy that will last all season.





GO VOLS

Great review as always!

Headed your way for fall break!
Reservations at the Grenedier for a pint!
Cheers

 

[Hbg]

Hi feathersax great points from you as always, I confess I didn't notice Wyatt but the others were prominent..

There was another point I would like to make, and I want to clarify i am not trying to start a controversy but has the team got a problem with Faizon Brandon? because

1) I was concerned to see in the Texas game that having been "splattered" many times no O`Liner seemed pick Brandon up (this is as you know normal protocol for the big uglies helping their man up after a busted play).
2) Also, WRs shaking their heads after completing their routes when the ball did not arrive. Try doing that to Tom Brady or Patrick Mahomes

Now I hear that Brandon is a good kid, he doesn't have an over inflated ego and works really hard but if the feeling in the locker room is that Macintyre should be QB1 then these two minor but important points pop up.

As I said I hope I am over reaching as I still think when both Brandon and Macintyre finish their College Football careers, it will be Brandon with the better one. but it was just a couple of small observations I have noticed the last two weeks.

I have noticed the same thing.

 

[Hbg]

Always look forward to your write ups but I have to disagree about brame as a blocker, he is mediocre at best.

 

[posivol]

GAME 5 – Auburn

Last weekend’s loss was really weird, to lose to the No 1 team in the country by 3 points and that was only on the last play, whilst shutting down a high profile and expensive Offense, should have been cause to celebrate, but with the O`Line being frighteningly bad and Faizon Brandon reminding everybody he is a true Freshman (don’t panic he is going to be a really good one) I found myself hugely disappointed.

So, we already move onto Game 5 and as we all know predicting College Football games is a mugs game. But as we stand today, I believe the O`Line will need to drastically improve (I have little belief that this will actually happen) for us to beat Alabama or LSU and even A&M will be tough as it is in College Station. So therefore, a decent season from here would be 8-4 and to achieve that Tennessee will need to beat Georgia Tech (job done), Auburn, Kentucky and South Carolina. Hence this weekend’s game is really important. this was written on Friday

Match Prediction
I expect the Offense will want to prove Volnation that they are better than they seem and Auburn is not Texas, so my prediction is Final Score: 27-17.


QUARTERBACKS F - and A -
I thought last week Faizon Brandon got a lot of unfair blame for the Texas loss but last night there was no hiding he looked shell shocked, really short of confidence and probably “banged up”; it was the right call to pull him before he completely lost the game. Anybody who throws more INTS (1) than passing yards (0) gets an F -. However, George MacIntyre was excellent including the play of the day when he hit Mike Matthews with a huge 42-yard pass into a tight window which kick started Tennessee’s momentum. Even though he only threw for 86 yards he deserves his grade of A -. I would also like to say I did not think MacIntyre was this good and he did not let his head drop and sulk after losing the job before the season, I am delighted to be proved wrong.

RUNNING BACKS A
I suppose wearing headwear that resembled leather straps it was appropriate that Tennessee won this game by playing “old school football” of run, run and run.
DeSean Bishop what a player, after a couple of quiet weeks he burst out with 220 yards and 3 TDs and most of this was in the 2nd Half when the game was very much on the line. Daune Morris again looked good but Bishop was the star.

WIDE RECEIVERS C +
With under 100 yards passing it was not going to be a highlight night for the WRs but there wasn’t many obvious bad moments and the Mike Matthews 42 reception was huge. Brandon Staley continues to be quiet, and he also had what I thought at the time was a “back breaking”. OPI wiping out a Bishop TD and an early 10-0 lead. I’m also not sold on Radarious Jackson as WR3 and maybe it is time to allow TK Keys to take his Freshman lumps, as his upside is far superior to that of Jackson`s.

TIGHT ENDS B -
So, it is becoming clear that this season the TE Unit without Ethan Davis is excellent at run blocking but non-existent in the passing game and DaShaan Brame epitomises this.

OFFENSIVE LINE B
For a patchwork O`Line I thought they were surprisingly OK. I am not great at studying individual performances on the O`Line so I tend to go out of focus slightly and just try to see the overall image, it didn’t seem bad last night and as the game wore on the running game took over and they were starting to dominate the line. Perhaps Strength Coach Owings is quietly doing a good job.



JIM KNOWLES A +
I have for some time had Rodney Garner as one of my favourite coaches but Jim Knowles has already surpassed him and with these two together our front Seven is the best I have seen since “I found” the Vols in 2009. When the season reviews are written we will look back and think “what could we have achieved if we had had a decent Offense in 2026? I am fast running out of superlatives to describe what this guy is doing.

DEFENSIVE LINE A +
Don’t be confused with the amount of yards given up (345) this was an outstanding Defensive performance as they answered the bell time and time again to stop Auburn whilst the Offense moved less than an Asthmatic Ant
I believe they are the No 1 in SACKs in the country and to think I thought this was perceived as our weakest link after the Coleman fiasco.
Again there were big performances everywhere, but this week I would like to single out Mariyon Dye who had a big FF whilst being disruptive on many occasions. But as I said there were a number of people who also deserved a mention.

LINEBACKERS A +
These guys were immense again, Amare Campbell and Arion Carter had the most highlights, but all the others put in big moments. I loved to see the reaction from Jeremiah Telander on the sideline after another big stop. I hope Coach Inge feels a little bit better this morning after watching “his boys” doing him proud.

DEFENSIVE BACKS A
Dejuan Lane 9 tackles, 2 SACKS, 2½ TFLs, 1 INT and 1 QBH, I am surprised he didn’t paint the endzone at Half Time as he was doing everything else. It’s hard to beat out a RB who posts 68% of the total Offense but Lane just may have got MOM. Ty Redmond again looks All SEC standard. I was pleased for Tevis Metcalf for getting the INT to “ice the game” as he had one or two awkward moments replacing Qua Moss.


MAN OF THE MATCH
I tossed the coin and gave it to DeSean Bishop as we simply wouldn’t have won without him.

OVERVIEW
Any SEC win and against a middle ranking opponent is good night, but in the long run I wonder that if a 300 yard performance from Brandon and a loss would have been better for the overall picture of the program going forward as we now have a QB controversy that will last all season.




no controversy..gmac should start unless he struggles.
GO VOLS

 

[AlsaceFreak]

Thank you as always London Vol! I saw a look in Faizon's eyes early in the game that scared me. You are spot on with the TE passing game and the loss to ED just gets more magnified with each game. Hope we can work in Wolfe more this season as I have heard that he might have the most upside of the group.
We still do not have a possession receiver defined at this point and thought that would have been Staley. Matthews has been outstanding as our big play guy but we need a solid, reliable SECOND option just to keep the chains moving. A CHECKDOWN receiver- since we are not getting that from the TE's.

Dismal/Ugly stat- prior to the Auburn game, the Univ of Miami had 10 receivers with more catches on the season than our 3rd place receiver with the same amount of receptions. Very ugly stat. We did not develop continuity with some of the WR's in the early (easiest) part of our schedule.

 

[Sivad]

Don’t get too excited because we are playing Arkansas and they are 15th in the league above South Carolina

Not any real excitement there friend. It was obvious G mac was able to see and react to what was in front of him much better than FB. If that’s actually the case it will show against the hogs

 

[INDEFENSE]

Hi feathersax great points from you as always, I confess I didn't notice Wyatt but the others were prominent..

There was another point I would like to make, and I want to clarify i am not trying to start a controversy but has the team got a problem with Faizon Brandon? because

1) I was concerned to see in the Texas game that having been "splattered" many times no O`Liner seemed pick Brandon up (this is as you know normal protocol for the big uglies helping their man up after a busted play).
2) Also, WRs shaking their heads after completing their routes when the ball did not arrive. Try doing that to Tom Brady or Patrick Mahomes

Now I hear that Brandon is a good kid, he doesn't have an over inflated ego and works really hard but if the feeling in the locker room is that Macintyre should be QB1 then these two minor but important points pop up.

As I said I hope I am over reaching as I still think when both Brandon and Macintyre finish their College Football careers, it will be Brandon with the better one. but it was just a couple of small observations I have noticed the last two weeks.

I am not going to predict which will have the better career, time will tell. What I will say is what you saw in the Texas game happened just the same in the two weeks prior. What the OL and
WR's were experiencing at that point had been going on for 3 weeks, not making an excuse but it was more than you are discussing here. I am FAR more concerned that CJH didn't take actions to confirm he made the correct choice on starters. It's just not possible to accurately pick a starter for sure without factoring in game play. JMO

 

[Hulavol]

GAME 5 – Auburn

Last weekend’s loss was really weird, to lose to the No 1 team in the country by 3 points and that was only on the last play, whilst shutting down a high profile and expensive Offense, should have been cause to celebrate, but with the O`Line being frighteningly bad and Faizon Brandon reminding everybody he is a true Freshman (don’t panic he is going to be a really good one) I found myself hugely disappointed.

So, we already move onto Game 5 and as we all know predicting College Football games is a mugs game. But as we stand today, I believe the O`Line will need to drastically improve (I have little belief that this will actually happen) for us to beat Alabama or LSU and even A&M will be tough as it is in College Station. So therefore, a decent season from here would be 8-4 and to achieve that Tennessee will need to beat Georgia Tech (job done), Auburn, Kentucky and South Carolina. Hence this weekend’s game is really important. this was written on Friday

Match Prediction
I expect the Offense will want to prove Volnation that they are better than they seem and Auburn is not Texas, so my prediction is Final Score: 27-17.


QUARTERBACKS F - and A -
I thought last week Faizon Brandon got a lot of unfair blame for the Texas loss but last night there was no hiding he looked shell shocked, really short of confidence and probably “banged up”; it was the right call to pull him before he completely lost the game. Anybody who throws more INTS (1) than passing yards (0) gets an F -. However, George MacIntyre was excellent including the play of the day when he hit Mike Matthews with a huge 42-yard pass into a tight window which kick started Tennessee’s momentum. Even though he only threw for 86 yards he deserves his grade of A -. I would also like to say I did not think MacIntyre was this good and he did not let his head drop and sulk after losing the job before the season, I am delighted to be proved wrong.

RUNNING BACKS A
I suppose wearing headwear that resembled leather straps it was appropriate that Tennessee won this game by playing “old school football” of run, run and run.
DeSean Bishop what a player, after a couple of quiet weeks he burst out with 220 yards and 3 TDs and most of this was in the 2nd Half when the game was very much on the line. Daune Morris again looked good but Bishop was the star.

WIDE RECEIVERS C +
With under 100 yards passing it was not going to be a highlight night for the WRs but there wasn’t many obvious bad moments and the Mike Matthews 42 reception was huge. Brandon Staley continues to be quiet, and he also had what I thought at the time was a “back breaking”. OPI wiping out a Bishop TD and an early 10-0 lead. I’m also not sold on Radarious Jackson as WR3 and maybe it is time to allow TK Keys to take his Freshman lumps, as his upside is far superior to that of Jackson`s.

TIGHT ENDS B -
So, it is becoming clear that this season the TE Unit without Ethan Davis is excellent at run blocking but non-existent in the passing game and DaShaan Brame epitomises this.

OFFENSIVE LINE B
For a patchwork O`Line I thought they were surprisingly OK. I am not great at studying individual performances on the O`Line so I tend to go out of focus slightly and just try to see the overall image, it didn’t seem bad last night and as the game wore on the running game took over and they were starting to dominate the line. Perhaps Strength Coach Owings is quietly doing a good job.



JIM KNOWLES A +
I have for some time had Rodney Garner as one of my favourite coaches but Jim Knowles has already surpassed him and with these two together our front Seven is the best I have seen since “I found” the Vols in 2009. When the season reviews are written we will look back and think “what could we have achieved if we had had a decent Offense in 2026? I am fast running out of superlatives to describe what this guy is doing.

DEFENSIVE LINE A +
Don’t be confused with the amount of yards given up (345) this was an outstanding Defensive performance as they answered the bell time and time again to stop Auburn whilst the Offense moved less than an Asthmatic Ant
I believe they are the No 1 in SACKs in the country and to think I thought this was perceived as our weakest link after the Coleman fiasco.
Again there were big performances everywhere, but this week I would like to single out Mariyon Dye who had a big FF whilst being disruptive on many occasions. But as I said there were a number of people who also deserved a mention.

LINEBACKERS A +
These guys were immense again, Amare Campbell and Arion Carter had the most highlights, but all the others put in big moments. I loved to see the reaction from Jeremiah Telander on the sideline after another big stop. I hope Coach Inge feels a little bit better this morning after watching “his boys” doing him proud.

DEFENSIVE BACKS A
Dejuan Lane 9 tackles, 2 SACKS, 2½ TFLs, 1 INT and 1 QBH, I am surprised he didn’t paint the endzone at Half Time as he was doing everything else. It’s hard to beat out a RB who posts 68% of the total Offense but Lane just may have got MOM. Ty Redmond again looks All SEC standard. I was pleased for Tevis Metcalf for getting the INT to “ice the game” as he had one or two awkward moments replacing Qua Moss.


MAN OF THE MATCH
I tossed the coin and gave it to DeSean Bishop as we simply wouldn’t have won without him.

OVERVIEW
Any SEC win and against a middle ranking opponent is good night, but in the long run I wonder that if a 300 yard performance from Brandon and a loss would have been better for the overall picture of the program going forward as we now have a QB controversy that will last all season.





GO VOLS

Outstanding as always sir!!!