Faizon Brandon graduated from first grade with top honors. Furman was of some assistance.

Tennessee’s freshman quarterback did not behave like a freshman. He accounted for five touchdowns in the 56-9 rout of the Paladins Saturday at overheated Neyland Stadium. Coaches and teammates did not seem surprised by his success.

Fans and empty seats, counted together, totaled 101,915. Ninety degrees caused some absentees. Early exits ruined popcorn sales.

The Vols were less than overwhelming in the early going but dominated the second and third quarters. Reserves finished up. The only real drama was whether the home team would pull the betting line. Tennessee was favored by anywhere from 46 to 49 points.

Offensive lineman David Sanders Jr. #70 before Saturday’s home game. (Photo by Andrew Ferguson/ Tennessee Athletics)

Next Saturday will provide more credible information. The Vols play at Georgia Tech.

Josh Heupel said the opener was a good start.

“There’s a bunch that we’re going to need to clean up in all three phases of the game, but overall pleased with the performance. I thought defensively we played extremely well. If we don’t turn it over, it’s probably a shutout.”

Indeed, Furman’s points came after Vol mistakes. A fumble by DeSean Bishop led to a field goal and sub center Antoni Ogumore’s bad snap set up the touchdown.

Tennessee’s defense conceded just 43 passing yards. So far, new coordinator Jim Knowles has had no comment.

The Vols accumulated 638 yards of total offense but Heupel fretted briefly about early penalties.

“After that, we executed at a high level. Quarterback played smart and efficient – all of them did – so good start. Lot to learn from and move on to a big one next week.”

I thought Brandon was the best 18-year-old on Shields-Watkins Field. He ran for 68 yards and two scores and completed 13 of 17 passes for 226 and two TD hits to Mike Matthews and one to Ethan Davis.

Matthews was running wide open on a 55-yard scoring play. The second was a beautiful throw and catch for 57.

Brandon’s four incompletions provided insight. One pass was batted down at the line of scrimmage. Matthews dropped a fourth-down throw. Faizon threw one ball away because he didn’t see an open receiver. Brandon or Matthews misread a key on the other. The wideout ran one route and the QB threw to another.

Brandon was asked how he felt before his first start.

“I had thought about it. I’m just very, very blessed and grateful because everybody doesn’t get to run through the T.

“I was definitely nervous, but not too nervous. I felt like I had a great week of preparation. So, I felt like I’d do pretty good. And there are a lot of great guys around me to help me do that.”

How about the two long balls to Matthews?

“That felt good. We’ve been doing it all along, fall camp and spring ball. So just to be out there, to be able to do it in front of all the fans, it felt pretty good.”

Faizon said his runs were dictated by the flow of the game.

“If something wasn’t there, just get outside the pocket and try to get a positive play and not take any negative.”

He said he ran with confidence.

“I’ve been doing a lot of stuff with D.O. (strength coach Derek Owings), just helping put on weight and getting stronger and faster. So now I feel very confident when I get outside the pocket.”

Running back Daune Morris #17 at Saturday’s game versus the Furman Paladins (Photo by Andrew Ferguson/ Tennessee Athletics)

George MacIntyre looked confident, too. He came off the bench in the third quarter and threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to freshman TK Keys. Third quarterback Ryan Staub also played – as did almost everybody with an orange shirt.

There were two other touchdowns. Bishop gained 97 yards on 14 carries and scored on a one-yard plunge. Justin Baker got away on a 73-yard TD run. In his Tennessee debut, Cooper Ranvier went 7-of-7 on extra points.

Xavier Gilliam was a defensive star. He had three sacks, including a back-to-back pair. He ran over a tight end. He caused a fumble by knocking a blocker into the quarterback. The powerful Gilliam spent a lot of time in the Furman backfield.

There was a surprise in the offensive line. Center Sam Pendleton didn’t play. Nic Moore took his place. That could have caused unrest – a first-time starting center handing the ball to a first-time starting quarterback.

Tennessee’s offensive line was slow to get going. David Sanders was flagged for holding and was part of the reason an edge rusher sacked Brandon. Two plays in the red zone went backwards on what looked like missed assignments.

Line play improved as Furman’s defense got tired.

Scoring summary:

Furman 0 0 3 6 – 9

Tennessee 7 21 21 7 – 56

SCORING SUMMARY

TENN: E. Davis 17 pass from Brandon (Ranvier kick).

TENN: Brandon 6 run (Ranvier kick).

TENN: Bishop 1 run (Ranvier kick).

TENN: Brandon 7 run (Ranvier kick).

TENN: Matthews 55 pass from Brandon (Ranvier kick).

TENN: Matthews 57 pass from Brandon (Ranvier kick).

FUR: Chapman 50 FG.

TENN: Keys 22 pass from MacIntyre (Ranvier kick), 10-75, 04:05 3-49

FUR: I. Davis 23 run (Garcia rush failed).

TENN: Baker 73 run (Turbyville kick).

Marvin West welcomes comments or questions from readers. His address is marvinwest75@gmail.com