The Tennessee offense struggled in the first half against Auburn on Saturday, being down 7-3 at halftime. While Tennessee would go on to take the 24-14 victory, it was George MacIntyre who led the comeback, as starting quarterback Faizon Brandon was benched by Josh Heupel during the contest. After the game, Heupel spoke about the decision to bench Brandon.

Now, the Tennessee coach is giving more insight into the quarterback and the plan for their next game, per Pete Thamel of ESPN.

“Faizon wasn’t at his best,” Heupel said. “Dealing with getting injured in the Texas game. If was affecting his game. We’ll go through the week here and we’ll find out Saturday.”

Brandon completed just three of eight passes for zero yards and an interception. Further, he was sacked twice and ran twice for a combined negative nine yards. He also fumbled once, but the fumble was not lost.

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George MacIntyre, who Brandon beat for the job, took over. He was not amazing, but he did enough. MacIntyre completed eight of ten passes for 86 yards. Meanwhile, the running game took off. Overall, Desean Bishop finished the game with 34 carries for 220 yards and three scores.

If MacIntyre gets the start against Arkansas, it will be the first start of his career. In his career, the redshirt freshman has appeared in five games, completing 21 of 29 passes for 217 yards with a touchdown. While Brandon wants to be on the field, he was a good teammate when it came to being benched, according to Alex Scarborough of ESPN.

“He was a good teammate during the course of the football game,” the Tennessee coach added. “Disappointed in that moment but also, I think he realized he wasn't playing at his best in major part because of what he was dealing with physically from the week before. Those guys have been great together in the room. I'm not saying they're best of friends hanging out outside of the building, but they've been really good inside of the room and on the practice field and on game day together. So anticipate that continuing here as we go.”

Tennessee is a double-digit favorite against Arkansas, who has struggled to a 2-3 start. Still, the Vols need to figure out things quickly. After the game visiting Arkansas, Tennessee will return home for a Top-25 matchup against Alabama the following week.