Faizon Brandon shined in his collegiate debut as host No. 20 Tennessee comfortably defeated Furman 56-9 on Saturday afternoon in Knoxville, Tenn.
Brandon, the first true freshman quarterback to start a season opener for the Volunteers (1-0) since Brent Schaeffer in 2004, was the first SEC player with three passing touchdowns and two rushing touchdowns in his first game since Auburn’s Cam Newton in 2010. He had 226 yards on 13-of-17 passing and added 68 more on the ground.
DeSean Bishop ran for 97 yards and a touchdown. Mike Matthews led the Volunteers’ receiving corps with 132 yards on four receptions and two scores.
Isaiah Davis rushed for a game-high 113 yards on eight carries and a score for Furman (1-1), which had 221 yards of total offense to Tennessee’s 638.
Xavier Gilliam had three of the Volunteers’ six sacks in Jim Knowles’ first game as defensive coordinator.
Tennessee started quickly, with its opening drive ending in seven points after Brandon connected with Ethan Davis for a 17-yard touchdown reception with 10:42 left in the first quarter.
The Volunteers didn’t score for the remainder of the opening period, but they took control with a 21-point second quarter.
Brandon’s first rushing touchdown, a 6-yard scamper with 11:14 remaining in the quarter, doubled Tennessee’s advantage. Bishop added a 1-yard touchdown run with 3:05 to go before Brandon called his own number one more time for a 7-yard score at the end of a successful two-minute drill.
Brandon picked up where he left off after the break, tossing 55- and 57-yard touchdowns to Matthews on the first two drives of the second half.
Furman took advantage of two Volunteer turnovers to avoid the shutout. After Ryan Earl recovered a Bishop fumble, Nathan Chapman drilled a 50-yard field goal with 5:55 left in the quarter.
Two drives later, after a botched snap that resulted in a fumble recovery for Eli Lipscomb, Davis darted into the end zone on a 16-yard touchdown run with 13:13 to go.
Justin Baker responded with a 73-yard rushing touchdown for the Volunteers with 11:39 remaining. It was the longest play of the day.
