Every third Saturday in October growing up, George MacIntyre would watch ESPN's "College GameDay" at his home in Nashville before flipping the channel to watch the Tennessee game against Alabama. DeSean Bishop, a product of nearby Karns High School, would do the same.
Both lifelong fans of the program, MacIntyre and Bishop helped lead the No. 14 Vols to a 26-10 victory over Alabama at Neyland Stadium on Oct. 17. MacIntyre, the sophomore quarterback, and Bishop, the senior running back, put the game away with a methodic 15-play, 72-yard scoring drive that milked 9:32 off the clock in the fourth quarter.
"It was a dream come true, for sure," MacIntyre said.
MacIntyre was 21-of-31 passing for 197 yards and a touchdown. He guided the offense to 347 yards, including two crucial second-half scoring drives after the offense settled for four field goals early. Bishop played a large role in the turnaround. He rushed for 159 yards on 32 carries and scored both touchdowns the Vols scored.
"It's just crazy, man," Bishop said. "You look back at the start of my journey, I was literally watching this game at home, kicked up with my leg in the air and now making the plays that make the difference for my team. And it's truly a blessing, man."
MacIntyre was a four-star recruit at Brentwood Academy, choosing Tennessee over Alabama in the cycle. He waited in the wings of Joey Aguilar last season, before he earned the chance to compete with freshman five-star recruit Faizon Brandon for the starting job this season.
After losing the job the first five games of the season and replacing an injured Brandon in the loss against Texas, it was only fitting for MacIntyre's first home start of his career to come against the Crimson Tide.
"Growing up, I always circled circle this date on the calendar," MacIntyre said. "... Just glad we could come out and get a win for our fans and our state."
It wasn't all pretty for MacIntyre against Alabama, though. He struggled to take advantage of short fields in the first half − six of the Vols' nine first-half drives were four yards or less. He threw an interception to set Alabama up for a short, one-play scoring drive.
But he bounced back. MacIntyre used the next drive to march 60 yards into field-goal territory to get Tennessee back on the board.
"My whole life, my whole career, kind of primed me for that moment to be able to shake it off, bounce back," MacIntyre said. "I think that's kind of the identity of our whole football team. Different guys that showed up."
"(He) played winning football," coach Josh Heupel said.
MacIntyre was picked up by the running game. Bishop rushed for 95 yards and two touchdowns in the second half. Both of his scores put a dagger in Alabama's hopes.
Bishop now has three consecutive games of 100-plus rushing yards. His 32 carries were the second-most of his career, only behind 34 against Auburn on Oct. 3.
The bruising back is a safety blanket for a young quarterback.
"When you combine that all together, man, we're a very hard offense to stop," Bishop said. "And I feel like we're really finding our rhythm right now."
Perhaps, a nine-minute drive where a pair of in-state stars combined to go 4-for-4 passing and 54 yards rushing with the game-sealing score is all the Vols needed in a rivalry game that means as much as it does to all UT fans.
"I thought we always had one more punch," MacIntyre said.
Trevor McGee covers the Knoxville Smokies and One Knox SC for Knox News. Email: trevor.mcgee@knoxnews.com; X: @TrevorMcGee12
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: George MacIntyre, DeSean Bishop explain Tennessee football win vs Alabama