Tennessee QB Faizon Brandon listed questionable for Saturday's game against Alabama

Tennessee freshman quarterback Faizon Brandon is listed as questionable for Saturday's game against Alabama at Neyland Stadium. The SEC's first availability report of the week, released Wednesday night, has him at that status with a right shoulder injury, USA TODAY Sports reported. That leaves the Volunteers with an open quarterback question going into their biggest game so far this season.

Brandon is a five-star freshman who started Tennessee's first five games. He hurt the shoulder in the 20-17 loss to Texas on Sept. 26, according to Adam Sparks of the Knoxville News Sentinel, whose report ran in The Tennessean. A week later George MacIntyre replaced him midway through the 24-14 win over Auburn. MacIntyre then started the 24-17 win at Arkansas, where Josh Heupel said Brandon was available for "emergency use only." Multiple reports say Brandon has been limited in practice this week.

Heupel did not name a starter at his Monday press conference. He has handled the position that way ever since the Auburn game. Brandon's numbers explain why the job opened up in the first place. He has completed 61 of 101 passes for 697 yards, seven touchdowns and one interception, and he has 130 rushing yards and three scores on 53 carries. USA TODAY Sports noted he passed for more than 200 yards only once, in the opener against Furman. Unless Brandon makes real progress by Saturday, MacIntyre looks like the starter.

Alabama has injury problems of its own. The Knoxville News Sentinel report lists wide receiver Ryan Coleman-Williams as out. He leads the Crimson Tide with 23 catches, 415 yards and four touchdowns. Defensive lineman Terrance Green, who has 2.5 sacks, is also out, and starting center Racin Delgatty is questionable with a lower-leg injury. All three were hurt in last week's loss to Georgia. Tennessee has already lost seven players for the season, including left guard Wendell Moe and tight end Ethan Davis.

What it means for Saturday

Both teams are 5-1, but they have won in very different ways. Before losing 20-17 to No. 2 Georgia, Alabama scored 45 or more points in five straight games, including 56 at Mississippi State. Tennessee has scored 24 points in each of its last two games, and both of those wins came with MacIntyre playing most of the snaps. The Vols' only loss was also by three points, 20-17 to Texas.

The board for this game has Alabama favored on the road at all 11 venues. On Novig, the Crimson Tide are -300 on the moneyline and Tennessee is +285. Novig's spread is Alabama -7.5 at -108, with Tennessee +7.5 at +102. FanDuel has the most room on the Tennessee side at +8.5 for -110, a full point more than Novig but at a steeper price. Novig's total is 51.5, while bet365 has the Under at 52.5 for -121. Sportsbook hold runs from about 4.2% to 6.8% across the markets, so the venues are reasonably close on this game. The biggest gap is that one point on the spread.

Kickoff is 3:30 p.m. ET on ABC. The SEC updates its availability report daily, and the final version comes out 90 minutes before kickoff. That last report should settle Brandon's status.