By SCOTT FELTS
This is the most unsettled quarterback matchup in the Third Saturday In October rivalry in years.
No. 6 Alabama (5-1) visits No. 14 Tennessee (5-1) Saturday at 3:30 p.m. on ABC at Neyland Stadium, and even though there are reports out Thursday that the Vols will start sophomore George MacIntyre, Josh Heupel has been deliberately vague all week.
True freshman Faizon Brandon, whose right shoulder has been a problem since the September 26 loss to Texas may or may not play. Brandon has been practicing more this week than last and is trending toward being available, but will likely still carry the questionable designation into the game on the official injury report. The injury is the reason MacIntyre started against Arkansas last week.
The stakes are real. Tennessee has won the last two meetings in Knoxville. Alabama is trying to avoid consecutive regular-season losses for the first time since 2007. And both offenses are coming off ugly weeks.
The Key Matchup
Alabama’s defense has been the best in the Southeastern Conference at stopping the run with only 99.8 yards per game allowed, good for 24th nationally, but it’s been porous through the air, giving up 236.5 passing yards per game, 103rd in the country.
Tennessee’s offense is built from the ground up with 228.3 rushing yards per game, 15th nationally, led by DeSean Bishop’s 678 yards and eight touchdowns. The Vols’ best path is feeding Bishop and making Alabama’s front seven defend the run all day. Tennessee is 41-2 when rushing for 175 or more yards under Heupel.
On the other side, Alabama’s offense is the third-highest scoring unit in the country at 44.2 points per game, and it runs through Keelon Russell’s legs as much as his arm. He’s a genuine dual threat with 1,599 passing yards, 12 touchdowns, and two interceptions, plus 225 rushing yards and four scores.
Tennessee’s defense is stout overall, allowing just 15.5 points per game, but it hasn’t faced a quarterback like this all season who can really hurt you both ways.
The Vol Side
Brandon’s season has been a tale of two extremes. He opened with a five-touchdown debut against Furman and looked like the five-star he was ranked as, with a stat line 13 of 17 passing for 226 yards, plus 68 yards rushing.
Then came the grind: 145 yards passing and 10 sacks against Texas, then a brutal Auburn game where he went 3-for- 8 for zero yards and an interception before getting pulled in the second quarter.
His overall line is now 61 of 101 passing (60.4%), 697 yards, seven touchdowns, and one pick. That’s efficient but modest, and he’s been sacked 15 times.
MacIntyre, meanwhile, is the in-state kid from Brentwood Academy who passed for 8,293 yards and 62 touchdowns in high school. He went 7 for 9 for 69 yards as a freshman backup last year, then this season has been 32 of 49 for 395 yards, with two touchdowns and two interceptions –.
His first career start against Arkansas was a roller coaster: 18 of 29 passing for 247 yards and a touchdown, with two picks and a lost fumble. Through all that, MacIntyre was gritty and made key plays in fourth 4th quarter when the Vols fell behind. Heupel called it a winning performance.
What does either Vol quarterback taking snaps Saturday need to do? Protect the football. Alabama’s defense has forced nine interceptions this season, and Tennessee’s offense has been turnover-prone. The Vols will be facing off against a Tide front that has generated 22 quarterback hits, good for fifth in the country.
Whoever is on the field at QB for Tennessee needs to win with the run game and complete short, high-percentage throws to control the clock and stay on the field. If the Vols try to win a shootout, they’ll lose.
The Alabama Side
Russell is the most decorated quarterback prospect Alabama has had since Bryce Young. As a former Elite 11 MVP, the five-star from Duncanville put up high school numbers that are absurd: 7,375 passing yards and 90 touchdowns against just eight interceptions over two seasons, including a 55-touchdown senior year.
In college, he’s been even better with 67.9 percent completion, 9.9 yards per attempt, 12 touchdowns to 2 picks, and he’s added 4 rushing scores. But last week against Georgia was his worst game of the season: 16 of 30 for 185 yards, 53.3 percent, one touchdown. That’s likely his bottom floor, not the ceiling and good enough for “winning football” when you’re playing Arkansas just not Georgia and the refs.
The bigger concern is that starting Alabama center, Racin Delgatty, is listed as questionable with a leg injury and receiver Ryan Coleman-Williams, the team’s leading receiver with 415 yards and four touchdowns, is likely out with head and knee injuries. Lotzeir Brooks and Rico Scott will have to step up. How will the young QB do in a hostile environment if he is without his usual center and primary target?
What Russell needs to do is make plays with his legs. Tennessee’s defense is good but not elite against the pass, and Russell’s ability to extend plays and scramble is what separates him from the Vol quarterbacks. If he can find Brooks and Scott downfield while keeping the run game alive with Trae’shawn Brown, Alabama’s offense should overwhelm Tennessee’s front.
Who Has the Edge
Alabama and Russell, narrowly. The Tide have the better quarterback in Russell who has more on-field experience, more production, more dual-threat ability, and a defense that has been dominant against the run, which is Tennessee’s bread and butter.
The Vols’ offense has been inconsistent, and the quarterback uncertainty adds another layer of risk. But Tennessee has home field, has won the last two in Knoxville, and a stout defense that leads the nation in sacks.
If MacIntyre can manage the game, avoid turnovers, and let Bishop run, the Vols have a real shot. If Brandon plays and his shoulder holds up, he has the higher ceiling but also the bigger risk. The smart money is on Russell to outduel whomever plays for Tennessee and for Alabama to win by about a touchdown, but this rivalry has a way of defying expectations.