Breaking Down Tennessee’s 638-Yard Performance Against Furman

The 18th-ranked Tennessee Volunteers (1-0) secured a dominant 56-9 victory over Furman (1-1) on Saturday during their opening week matchup at Neyland Stadium. Team standings are based on the preseason US LBM Coaches Poll.

In his first college game, freshman quarterback Faizon Brandon of Tennessee earned the start and registered five touchdowns. The signal-caller, measuring 6-foot-4 and 225 pounds, went 13-for-17 through the air, accumulating 226 passing yards and three touchdowns, while adding 68 yards and a pair of scores on the ground over 10 carries.

With 97 rushing yards, DeSean Bishop paced the ground attack for the Volunteers. Both Bishop and Justin Baker contributed a rushing touchdown apiece for the Tennessee offense.

Mike Matthews emerged as the top target for the Vols, catching four passes for 132 yards and finding the end zone twice.

Additional touchdown receptions were made by Ethan Davis and TK Keys during the matchup with Furman.

The Volunteers amassed a total of 638 offensive yards (329 on the ground and 309 through the air) across 74 plays, moving the chains for 29 first downs and controlling the ball for 32 minutes and two seconds.

Tennessee converted 5 of 11 third-down opportunities, went 2-for-3 on fourth downs, and maintained a perfect 4-of-4 scoring record inside the red zone.

Adding to the aerial attack, George MacIntyre went 5-of-7 passing for 56 yards and a touchdown, and Ryan Staub was perfect on all 3 of his pass attempts for 27 yards.