Faizon Brandon shows off arm strength with 57-yard TD pass to Mike Matthews
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Faizon Brandon was already having a debut to remember on Saturday afternoon as the starting quarterback at Tennessee, and then he did 1 better.
The true freshman dropped back to pass early in the 3rd quarter and showed why he won the starting job in fall camp. Brandon fired a 57-yard touchdown pass to Mike Matthews to give the 20th-ranked Volunteers a 42-0 lead over Furman at a rocking Neyland Stadium.
It was the 2nd long touchdown connection in a matter of minutes for Brandon and Matthews, who also hooked up on a 55-yard TD pass just 1:06 into the second half. Then, with 11:38 left in the 3rd quarter came this glorious pass that continued Brandon’s fine introduction to Tennessee fans:
Brandon hit Matthews in stride on that pass, with Matthews hauling it in at about the 10-yard line and doing the rest himself. The 2 long TD connections turned a 28-0 halftime lead into a 42-0 runaway, and the lead eventually ballooned to 49-3 at the end of the 3rd quarter.
By that time, Brandon’s afternoon was done, as he finished 13 of 17 for 226 yards and 3 touchdowns with 0 interceptions. His first game day as the starting quarterback at Tennessee went as well as could be expected, and that arm strength was on full display.
So were Brandon’s legs, too, as he had run up 68 yards on the ground with 2 more touchdowns, so Brandon was showing himself to be a dual-threat dynamo in just his first game in orange.
With Brandon at the helm, Tennessee hopes to make some noise this season in the SEC. Here is what the Kalshi market is currently showing for the best odds to take home that coveted SEC trophy in December:
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.
