What Tennessee coach Josh Heupel said about benching Faizon Brandon during Auburn game

October 4, 2026 · Yahoo Sports

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Tennessee football took the 24-14 victory over Auburn on Saturday. It was not thanks to the play of Faizon Brandon. Brandon completed just three of eight passes for zero yards and an interception. Further, he lost nine yards on the ground. This led to Tennessee benching Brandon during the game.

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Now, head coach Josh Heupel is speaking out about the benching and what the plan is for Brandon, per The Next Round.

“We’ll go watch the tape. Faizon, ultimately, didn’t play his best football. The turnover on the sideline and some of the things, you know, just progressions,” Heupel said. “But I’ve said it a bunch to you guys, we’re gonna need ’em all throughout the course of the year. I alluded to that a little bit earlier, with guys that had to step up, and we’ll get back in the building on Monday and continue to grow. There’s a lot of growth left for us on the offensive side of the football, and it’s a positive that we get a win.”

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George MacIntyre took over for Brandon, completing eight of ten passes for 86 yards. Most of the offense came from DeSean Bishop. He ran the ball all 34 times in the game, racking up 220 yards. He also scored three times as Tennessee moved to 4-1 on the year.

The freshman quarterback has been up and down this year. He has completed 61 of 101 passes for 687 yards and seven touchdowns. He threw his first pick of the year in the game against Auburn. He was sacked ten times last week against Texas, and two more times against Auburn.

Tennessee continues to climb in the Top 25 and returns to the field on Saturday, visiting Arkansas.

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