Faizon Brandon replaces injured George MacIntyre at QB for Tennessee
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Faizon Brandon was in his original element on Saturday afternoon in a most crucial spot for Tennessee.
With the ranked Volunteers trying to grind out a victory against a struggling Texas A&M team that was trying to play spoiler at home, the freshman Brandon was forced into duty when quarterback George MacIntrye suffered an injury in the Week 11 SEC showdown in College Station.
Not only was it a crucial spot in general with Tennessee trying to keep its College Football Playoff hopes intact, it was also a crucial spot within the game, with the Vols trailing the Aggies 7-6 midway through the 3rd quarter.
With MacIntyre, who had replaced Brandon as the starting quarterback earlier this season, needing to leave the game, it was time for Brandon to reassert himself and try to help give Tennessee the lead back.
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While Brandon didn’t throw a pass, he contributed to an 11-play, 66-yard drive with a 4-yard run and a 5-yard run, and that key drive ended with Cooper Ranvier’s 32-yard field goal that gave Tennessee a 9-7 lead with 1:21 left in the 3rd quarter.
There was a whole quarter-plus left in Saturday’s must-win game, but Brandon had done his job in settling things down after MacIntyre’s injury.
After forcing a Texas A&M punt early in the 4th quarter, Brandon was back in there under center on the Volunteers’ next drive, so apparently MacIntyre’s injury was significant enough where Brandon’s services were needed for more than just that 1 drive in the 3rd quarter.
There was a huge game for Tennessee to win on Saturday, no matter how and no matter who was playing quarterback.
Brandon showed he was up to the task again on that next drive, throwing a 5-yard touchdown pass to DaSaahn Brame to boost the Vols’ lead to 16-7 with 9:38 left in the game.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
