For the fifth straight week, Josh Heupel won’t say who his starting quarterback is, and this time it’s No. 6 Kentucky coming to Neyland on Saturday. Asked Monday, he went with the classic: “We’ll finish the week here in practice and get to game day” (via Knox News).
Here’s my take: I love it. George MacIntyre has started the last three games and taken the snaps since the Auburn game. Everybody in Knoxville knows who’s trotting out there first. Heupel just isn’t going to print it for Kentucky’s defensive staff. Make them spend Thursday guessing. That’s free.
And here’s the bigger point. It doesn’t really matter what Heupel says, because Tennessee’s quarterback right now is a running back.
The offense runs through DeSean Bishop
- Since the switch at Auburn: Tennessee is 3-1, with wins over Auburn, Arkansas and Alabama.
- Bishop in those four games: 117 carries, 637 yards, 7 touchdowns. He’s carried it at least 32 times in three of them.
- Bishop this season: 957 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns in eight games.
- MacIntyre this season: 728 passing yards, 2 touchdowns, 3 interceptions, 67% completions.
That’s not a knock. That’s an identity. When you’ve got a back who can take 34 carries for 220 yards like Bishop did against Auburn, you don’t need your quarterback to be a hero. You need him to hand it off, hit the throw that’s there and not lose the game. Kentucky knows exactly what’s coming. Stopping it is a different thing.
One more number for you: Bishop needs 535 more yards to break Dylan Sampson’s school record of 1,491 from 2024. With four regular-season games left, that’s about 134 a game. I wouldn’t bet against it.
No. 6 Kentucky (7-1) at No. 13 Tennessee (6-2), Saturday at 5:15 p.m. Central on ESPN. Name a starter or don’t, coach. Just give No. 18 the ball.
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Jeremy Durham is a sports columnist for TriStar Daily and the founder of Five and a Fade.
