Chasing a First in College Station: Tennessee Brings DeSean Bishop and a Two-Quarterback Plan to Texas A&M

Texas A&M's season has not gone the way the Aggies hoped, but their home stadium is still one of the hardest places to win in college football. That is the challenge waiting for Tennessee on Saturday afternoon in College Station, where the Volunteers have never won, according to Tennessee Athletics ^[1].

Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. Central, 3 p.m. Eastern, on ESPN, and the game was expected to start on schedule even after the nationwide FAA ground stop scrambled Tennessee's travel plans, On3 reported ^[2]. The Vols are ranked No. 8, according to On3 ^[2].

Run It and Stop It

Tennessee arrives at 7-2 overall and 4-2 in the SEC after a 34-6 rout of Kentucky at Neyland Stadium last Saturday, a win that kept the Vols alive in the College Football Playoff race ^[1][3]. The game was only 13-6 entering the fourth quarter before Tennessee pulled away, and the Vols finished with 389 yards of offense, 240 of them on the ground, while forcing three turnovers, Yahoo Sports reported ^[3].

DeSean Bishop did the heavy lifting with 109 yards on 25 carries and two fourth-quarter touchdowns ^[3]. With that performance he joined Johnnie Jones as the only players in program history to rush for 1,000 yards in back-to-back seasons, Yahoo Sports reported ^[4]. That is fine company for a back who has gone about his work without much noise, and it is a reminder that consistency, carry after carry and season after season, still counts for something.

Two Quarterbacks, One Question

The bigger question is in the passing game. George MacIntyre, who replaced Faizon Brandon as the starter during the Auburn game in early October, completed 9 of 14 passes for 125 yards against Kentucky, and coach Josh Heupel said he played efficiently, On3 reported ^[5]. But Heupel was candid that the passing attack as a whole has to be better, not just the quarterback ^[5].

Brandon still has a role. Against Kentucky he ran for 29 yards and threw a 24-yard touchdown pass to Mike Matthews out of a special package, which Heupel said gives opposing defenses one more thing to prepare for ^[5]. Texas A&M will have to account for both looks.

That will not be easy against this defense, either. Heupel pointed out that the Aggies have been the best red-zone defense in the country, and that the shrinking field near the goal line makes the throwing windows even tighter ^[5]. Drives that stall inside the 20 and end in field goals are exactly how an underdog keeps a game close into the fourth quarter.

A Proud Program Looking for a Lift

The Aggies come in at 4-5 overall and 1-5 in the SEC after a 17-9 loss at No. 21 South Carolina last week, Texas A&M Athletics reported ^[6]. They led 9-7 entering the fourth quarter in Columbia before the Gamecocks scored the game's final 10 points, and senior running back Rueben Owens II ran for a season-high 137 yards in the loss ^[6].

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That game told the story of the Aggies' season in miniature: a defense good enough to win, and an offense that could not finish. Owens running the ball well gives Texas A&M a path on Saturday. If the Aggies can keep the game on the ground, shorten it and lean on that red-zone defense, the home crowd will do the rest.

What's at Stake

For Tennessee, this is a business trip with a lot riding on it. The Vols have played their best football when they run the ball, take care of it and let their defense set the tone, and that formula travels. A win in a building where they have never won would add the kind of road victory the playoff committee notices in November.

For Texas A&M, it is a chance to turn a hard season into something better. Seasons are redeemed on afternoons like this one, when a team with nothing to lose meets a team with everything to lose. The Aggies' loyal fans keep filling that stadium in good years and bad, and their players have one more chance to give them a day worth remembering.

Either way, the plan on both sidelines starts in the same place: whoever runs the ball better and finishes drives in the red zone will likely leave College Station happy.