Tennessee football fans want to see more Faizon Brandon in the offense, DeSean Bishop‘s assault on the record book and the Vols climb the College Football Playoff rankings.
They should get all three wishes granted as the No. 9 Vols head into the final three-game stretch of the regular season. They also want an explanation for a controversial call that they thought was a UT touchdown by DaSaahn Brame.
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Tennessee (7-2, 4-2 SEC) plays at Texas A&M (4-5, 1-5) on Nov. 14 (3 p.m. ET, ESPN). But first, let’s look back to UT’s 34-6 win over No. 13 Kentucky by answering fan questions in an overflowing Vols mailbag.
How far will Tennessee climb in CFP rankings?
Supposedly, the CFP rankings reset each week. But judging by the initial CFP Top 25, Tennessee should move up four spots because four teams ahead of the Vols lost. No. 8 BYU lost to No. 3 Utah. No. 10 Ole Miss lost to No. 2 Georgia. No. 12 Ohio State lost to No. 23 Oregon. Plus, No. 13 Tennessee beat No. 6 Kentucky – that is, according to the CFP rankings.
Georgia, Utah and Alabama might be the top three. There’ll be an ongoing debate about the weight of UT’s head-to-head 26-10 win over Alabama. But the important thing for the Vols is that they keep winning to secure a playoff spot.
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Does a 10-2 record guarantee a playoff spot?
In Tennessee’s case, yes. The Vols have quality wins over playoff contenders Alabama and Kentucky and “good” losses to Texas and South Carolina. That’s a strong résumé.
If UT wins its remaining games to finish 10-2, it’ll likely host one of the first-round games, which go to seeds 5-8.
If UT loses a close game at Texas A&M and then beats LSU and Vanderbilt to finish 9-3, there still could be a narrow path to the playoff, depending on how the rest of the SEC finishes.
Will Vols now be in Alabama’s CFP pod?
Good question. It’s confusing because only the CFP committee knows exactly where that so-called “pod” of top-tier teams ends.
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I think Alabama, Texas and Tennessee should be clustered together. That’s how voters in the US LBM Coaches Poll and AP Top 25 saw it. They placed Alabama at No. 7, Texas as No. 8 and Tennessee at No. 9.
Head-to-head results aren’t the only factor in ranking teams, but it should be a major one. That being said, Alabama has a strong résumé, including the No. 1 strength of schedule and good road wins.
Why does UT only have a 32% chance of making CFP?
You’re referring to the ESPN Playoff Predictor featured on SEC Network. That takes into account each team’s probability of winning its remaining games. In other words, that prediction model believes that UT will lose at least one more game. If UT wins out for a 10-2 record, the probability increases to nearly 100%.
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Will UT get credit for beating a good team or an overrated team?
For now, UT should get credit for beating a good team because Kentucky remains in playoff contention. With only two losses, UK likely would make the playoff if it can beat Florida, Missouri and Louisville to finish 10-2.
Where does DeSean Bishop rank in UT’s single-season records?
Bishop has 196 rushing attempts for 1,066 yards and 13 touchdowns with three regular-season games and at least one postseason game remaining.
Travis Stephens owns UT’s single-season record with 291 carries in 2001. Bishop hasn’t cracked the top 10 yet, but he ultimately could challenge Stephens’ mark.
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Dylan Sampson rushed for 1,491 yards in 2024 for that record. Bishop ranks 18th, but he’s on pace to finish with more than 1,500 yards if he can remain healthy and productive.
Sampson scored 22 rushing TDs in 2024. Bishop is tied for eighth, but he needs only five TDs to move into second place and then challenge Sampson’s mark.
Was UT resting Bishop for the second half?
It seemed that way, but that’s because no UT offensive player played much in the first half. The Vols had only 22 offensive snaps in the first half, and Bishop carried the ball on nine of those.
Did UT put Bishop back in the game to get 100 yards?
Coach Josh Heupel likes stats, and Bishop got his fifth straight 100-yard game by carrying the ball on those last two plays. But I can’t say that Heupel considered that.
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Bishop was well rested, and he is UT’s preferred closer for wins like that. He finished with 25 carries, which is a moderate workload compared to his recent output.
What did you think of the Faizon Brandon package?
It was rolled out very effectively. There was a handoff on Brandon’s first play, but that introduced the package to Kentucky’s defense. His 29-yard run flashed what Brandon can do on a quarterback sweep. And that set up the 24-yard TD on a shovel pass to Mike Matthews, which worked off the same action as the earlier quarterback sweep.
There’s a progression to that package, and UT did it wonderfully. Now the next phase is adding a passing option to it, which I’m sure the Vols already have.
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Will Faizon Brandon’s role grow from here?
Yes, I think so. George MacIntyre still gives UT the best chance to win as the starting quarterback. He made a few good passes, including a couple that were dropped. And he’s improving in all areas of the passing game, although some of that improvement isn’t easily perceptible.
But UT needs productive wrinkles in its offense, and Brandon has that potential. Against Kentucky, he was a running threat with creative play calls. But he is also an accurate passer, albeit perhaps limited in working through progressions against complex coverages.
Brandon’s growing pains are understandable for a freshman, but his talent is also undeniable. UT should utilize it in select situations.
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Any concerns that the game was close for three quarters?
I understand that sentiment. But I think there’s a tendency for fans to nitpick victories of their own team but overlook blemishes of other teams. It’s understandable because fans live and die on every play of their team.
However, fans of other teams periodically checked into Tennessee’s game and took away that it was a rout because that’s what the score said.
Also, the manner in which the Vols win shouldn’t be devalued. Their 21-0 fourth-quarter surge wasn’t accidental. It was earned with a physical style of play through the first three quarters.
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What big adjustment did the offense make at halftime?
Heupel said he challenged the running backs at halftime because they had missed some assignments and running lanes set up by blocks. They refocused and reconfigured, and it showed in the results. The Vols rushed for 134 yards in the second half.
Why wasn’t DaSaahn Brame’s catch a touchdown?
In the third quarter, Brame caught a 20-yard pass and fell backward over the goal line as he tried to secure the ball. He didn’t lose possession until he landed in the end zone. However, ESPN rules analyst Steve Shaw, the former SEC head of officials, explained during the broadcast why it was an incomplete pass.
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When a receiver is going to the ground as they make a catch – diving or falling, for example – they must maintain possession through contact with the ground. So it looked like a catch but wasn’t one, by rule.
What can be done about the bad officiating in college?
Bad calls have always existed in college football. Video replay and multiple TV angles have exposed them more often these days. But I don’t think UT has been a victim of bad calls any more than other teams. For example, some of the loudest boos at Neyland Stadium came after Matthews was flagged for offensive pass interference, but it was the correct call.
Is the passing offense expanding for George MacIntyre?
Yes. The game plan dictates how that expansion is displayed. But against Kentucky, a few vertical routes opened up against man coverage as UT utilized play-action fakes. MacIntyre completed a 34-yarder to Braylon Staley and a 36-yarder to Radarious Jackson. He overthrew Staley on another deep pass. The throw to Brame was exceptional, but it didn’t yield a touchdown.
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Were there any significant injuries?
Defensive end Tyree Weathersby and Brame left the game with injuries. Heupel did not have an update on their condition after the game. Weathersby’s injury looked serious, but that’s not an official medical diagnosis.
Weathersby leads the team with seven sacks and two fumble recoveries, so he’s a valuable weapon on defense. The SEC availability report for the Texas A&M game will be released on Nov. 11.
Why did Josh Heupel call a run play on third-and-11 in third quarter?
It’s hard to say, but I wonder if that was a miscommunication or pre-snap misread by MacIntyre. UT had four receivers split wide, presumably to spread out UK’s defense and lighten the tackle box. That would’ve given Bishop room to run.
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Instead, UK put seven defenders in the tackle box and had only four defensive backs to defend four receivers. If there was an option to pass out of that formation, that seemed like a better option in that situation. But MacIntyre handed the ball to Bishop for no gain.
Why do QBs keep escaping the pocket for big gains?
The answer is different depending on the play. UK sometimes caught UT in man coverage with no spy mirroring the quarterback. Sometimes the spy didn’t immediately make the tackle. Also, give UK quarterback Kenny Minchey credit for evading the pass rush in a few instances.
But while it seemed like Minchey had a string of successful scrambles, there actually weren’t that many. He had six rushing attempts for 33 yards. He broke a 12-yard scramble and a pair of 7-yard scrambles. Otherwise, he was dropped for four sacks and a couple of minimal gains.
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Which remaining game is UT’s toughest – Texas A&M or LSU?
That might depend on LSU’s mindset when it comes to Knoxville on Nov. 21. LSU drifted out of the playoff pool after a 31-13 home loss to Alabama and no Top 25 wins.
LSU could perhaps get back in it with back-to-back wins over Texas and Tennessee. But if the Tigers lose to Texas, they could be unmotivated for the Tennessee game.
Texas A&M will be a challenge because it’s an SEC road game. But again, the question is how focused the Aggies are. The perspective of the opponent matters as much as UT’s approach.
What will be Tennessee’s final record?
I predicted an 8-4 record in the preseason.
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I think 9-3 or 10-2 seem more likely now. That includes a win over Vanderbilt and either a sweep or split of the Texas A&M and LSU games. If the Vols don’t make the playoff, a consolation prize might be a Florida bowl.
Adam Sparks is the Tennessee football beat reporter. Email adam.sparks@knoxnews.com. X, formerly known as Twitter@AdamSparks. Support strong local journalism by subscribing at knoxnews.com/subscribe.
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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee football fans eager to see the Faizon Brandon package, CFP climb past Alabama
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