By Jack Glennon
Though few people expected the No. 14 Tennessee Volunteers to upset the No. 6 Alabama Crimson Tide on Saturday, the men in orange and white found a way to pull it off.
On Saturday, the Tennessee Volunteers defeated the Alabama Crimson Tide, 26-10, marking their third consecutive win over the rival Tide inside of Neyland Stadium.
And, despite the fact that they scored 26 points, and the Volunteers’ offense having virtually nothing to do with the upset, there was one notable exception.
Last season, the Volunteers failed to win the time of possession battle against a single SEC opponent.
They leaned on the run to dominate the time of possession, defeating Alabama, which had only lost the time of possession battle once this season, 36 minutes to 24.
“[We found] the right way to win a football game,” Heupel said. “[We operated] out of the huddle, [and] had a couple of key conversions [through the air].”
Most of Tennessee’s success offensively can be attributed to running back DeSean Bishop, who rushed for 159 yards and two touchdowns on 32 attempts.
More impressive, though, was Tennessee’s remarkable performance defensively.
Coming into the Third Saturday in October, the Crimson Tide offense had scored 45 or more points in five of their first six games, averaging 44.2 points per game.
The Tennessee defense, however, held them to a measly 10.
Led by defensive coordinator Jim Knowles, who is in his inaugural season with the Volunteers, the Tennessee defense sacked Alabama quarterback Keelon Russell on five occasions.
“Our defensive line has continued to get better every week,” Heupel said. “The key is [that] our front is playing well off of each other.”
More impressively, they came away with 10 tackles for loss, forced four turnovers, and held Alabama to just 112 yards on passing plays.
While it may sound ridiculous, the Tennessee Volunteers have the best defense in the country.
In four games against SEC opponents, the Volunteers have suffocated their opponents, holding them to just 15.3 points per game.
Further, they now have only allowed more than 300 yards of total offense to one SEC opponent this season, despite facing two teams ranked inside the top 10.
They held No. 7 Texas, who totaled well over 300 yards against No. 4 Ohio State, to just 262 yards.
If the Tennessee Volunteers can make minor tweaks to the offense, they have real potential to compete for a National Championship.
And, no, that is not an overreaction.
The Volunteers held the nation’s second-highest scoring offense to 10 points, and just 201 total yards.
Furthermore, the Volunteers are allowing over 100 fewer yards per game to opponents, proving the unit’s vast improvement under Knowles.
So yes, the Vols can absolutely compete with any team in the country.
And, it almost goes without saying that if the Volunteers had begun the season with quarterback George MacIntyre as the starter, they would currently be 7-0.
While freshman quarterback Faizon Brandon has the undeniable potential to become Tennessee’s next legendary quarterback, it becomes more evident by the day that MacIntyre is far more prepared to lead Tennessee’s offense.
This is not to say that Brandon does not have the talent necessary to lead Tennessee’s offense in the long term, but allowing MacIntyre to move forward as the starter improves Tennessee’s offense significantly.
After spending the last year learning under now-Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Joey Aguilar, MacIntyre has familiarized himself within Heupel’s offense since arriving on campus in the Spring of 2025.
“[He] played winning football,” Heupel said. “Super consistent, [he always has] the same demeanor.”
For a freshman, MacIntyre’s maturity is incredibly impressive. Though he is limited as a dual-threat, he consistently finds ways to extend plays.
The assumption is that MacIntyre has solidified the starting job moving forward.
“I have been dealing with adversity my whole life,” MacIntyre said. “[That has] prepared me for this moment.”
UP NEXT: His next task comes in a week: his second road test as the starter.
As the Volunteers move to 6-1 (3-1), they will next face off against the 3-3 (1-3) LaNorris Sellers-led South Carolina Gamecocks.