Despite starting 3-0, Tennessee’s passing game didn’t get off to a great start this season. Freshman QB Faizon Brandon made plays, but overall, he was a work in progress. Then, Texas exposed Brandon’s flaws at Knoxville in a game where the QB couldn’t develop any rhythm. It can be a confidence-shattering defeat. However, Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel trusts in the QB’s ability to learn from that failure.

“First of all, he wants to play at a high level,” Heupel told the media on October 1, when asked about Brandon. “He knows that he can and needs to play better than he did Saturday. But that’s a young guy who, since he’s gotten here, has taken ownership, takes correction, and incorporates it into his game and improves. And certainly expect that from him this week.”

“I said at the beginning of the year, too, you got a young quarterback; the ten other guys around him got to do their job at a high level to alleviate unforeseen circumstances for that guy, too. And that’s part of the ownership that everybody on the offensive side of the ball has to have,” he added.

The Texas loss dropped the Vols to No. 17 in the AP rankings. In Week 5, they are going against an Auburn team (3-1) fresh off a win over Vanderbilt. The Tigers have their own struggles at QB with Byrum Brown. But the focus of the Knoxville crowd will be on their freshman QB to see how he recovers from a humbling like Week 4.

Against Texas, Brandon completed 17 of his 29 attempts for 145 yards and a touchdown. But the real story on offense for the Vols wasn’t his performance. Of course, he could’ve played better. But the Texas D-line completely overwhelmed Tennessee’s O-line.

Brandon was sacked 10 times during that game. Colin Simmons was responsible for 5 of these sacks, including on back-to-back plays in the second half. Even with that, Tennessee was trailing 17-20 late in the fourth quarter and had the ball to either tie the game or win it. The Longhorns held on and walked out of Knoxville with a crucial SEC win.

During the game, it was also unclear how Brandon’s second-quarter injury hampered his play. The QB sustained a right shoulder injury on his throwing arm after a hard hit. The Neyland Stadium held its collective breath for two possessions when George MacIntyre stepped in for Brandon. However, the QB returned to action.

For the Auburn game, Tennessee’s pass protection would have to improve. On his part, Brandon will also need to be better when facing pressure. He couldn’t get anything going against Texas. What made things worse was that Texas was getting home with a four-man rush.

“(Regarding) all the protection problems, it’s not just five guys,” Heupel said. “It’s everybody involved in it. It’s tight ends. It’s backs. It’s the quarterback. It’s wide receivers doing their job, too. It’s all those pieces working together.”

The tape will also have his impressive 80-yard drive to make it 17-20. If he had connected with his Hail Mary attempt, the discourse would have pivoted towards Arch Manning’s equally poor performance.

While the offense would have heavy expectations riding on them, the defensive line can take a breather. The encouraging news is that defensive back Qua Moss was completely left off Tennessee’s initial SEC Student-Athlete Availability Report this week.

Moss was injured late in the fourth quarter. He was coming down to make a tackle on Texas quarterback Arch Manning. As he went to the ground, Moss appeared to take a knee directly to the helmet. While he was able to walk off the field on his own, he did not return to the game.