KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – It is time for East Tennessee as a whole to admit the fact that Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel’s utter lack of decisiveness is costing the Tennessee Volunteers time they simply do not have.

After freshman quarterback Faizon Brandon was benched in favor of George MacIntyre during Saturday’s home win against the Auburn Tigers, questions were raised about who would be Tennessee’s starting quarterback moving forward.

On Saturday, Brandon completed three of eight pass attempts for zero yards, zero touchdowns, and an interception, a hideous performance.

In relief, MacIntyre went 8 of 10 for 86 yards, leading the Volunteers to 21 second-half points.

While almost all of the offense’s second-half success can be attributed to the incredible performance of DeSean Bishop, who rushed for more than 200 yards on the day, MacIntyre being functional made the offense significantly less predictable.

However, Heupel is unconvinced by MacIntyre, and remained ominous when asked to name a starting quarterback.

“We will find out [who is starting] as the week goes [on],” Heupel said. “George [MacIntyre] came in and did some really good things [on Saturday].”

After Saturday’s performance, the fact that Heupel is still hesitant about moving forward with MacIntyre is utterly bewildering.

I say this not because I believe that MacIntyre is the long-term solution, but because Brandon is clearly not the short-term solution.

In two games against SEC opponents, Brandon has completed just 54% of his passes.

Even more alarming, though, is the fact that Brandon has posted an abysmal 3.92 yards per pass attempt in conference play.

Further, his 6.9 yards per attempt on the season is the fourth-worst mark in the SEC.

Heupel’s decision could not possibly be more obvious. Yet, the Volunteers’ head coach is willing to mortgage the rest of Tennessee’s season by wasting time that an already anemic Tennessee offense simply does not have.

As the old adage goes, if you have two quarterbacks, you have none.

Simply put, Heupel needs to pick a quarterback immediately and stand by his decision for the remainder of the season.

Further, the veteran coach ought to be wary of falling victim to sunk cost fallacy.

Under the old rules, because Brandon has appeared in five games, he would now officially ineligible to be granted a redshirt for this season. But, under the five years of eligibility in five years, it's a moot point.

I fear that Heupel will continue forward with Brandon simply because of this, which has the potential to be a catastrophic mistake.

The reality, however, is that Brandon should have never been starting in the first place, because subjecting an 18-year-old to the brutality of SEC play was always a recipe for disaster.

Heupel’s next move seems like a no-brainer.

As always, though, the Volunteers’ head coach will undoubtedly take his time in deciding who will take the reins of the offense for Tennessee moving forward.

After fielding more than a few quarterback questions during his weekly media meeting Monday, he finally bristled when the interrogation on quarterbacks continued.

The Volunteers have little time to decide, as they will head to Fayetteville, Ark., for a highly anticipated SEC matchup with the Arkansas Razorbacks on Saturday, Oct. 10.

Source: Yahoo Sports