It wasn’t pretty, but Tennessee left Neyland Stadium with a 24-14 win over Auburn on Saturday.

The Vols’ defense — four sacks and three takeaways — along with running back DeSean Bishop (220 rushing yards and three touchdowns) fueled the win for Tennessee.

But while the Vols achieved their main goal of getting a win on Saturday, there are going to be major questions about the offense this week. Josh Heupel benched true freshman quarterback Faizon Brandon in the first half — due to a combination of performance and injury — and gave the ball to redshirt freshman George MacIntyre.

MacIntyre wasn’t asked to throw the ball a lot — he completed 8-of-10 passes for 86 yards — but he seemed more comfortable operating the offense than Brandon.

The lack of production in the passing game the last two weeks is a concern. I’m not blaming Heupel — he has a couple of young quarterbacks he’s trying to develop — but it’s something that has to improve going forward for this team to have a chance.

Tennessee has something that should make Vols fans feel good about the rest of the season

Yes, the passing game and the quarterback situation are a concern. But there are still some things about this Tennessee team I really like.

Mainly, I love the fight I’ve seen from them.

Look, the last two weeks have been ugly. Even the Georgia Tech win was a little ugly. But sometimes that’s just how games play out.

Tennessee has shown that they’re not going to give up when the other team makes backbreaking plays. The Vols have some flaws, but they compete hard no matter the situation. That’s why they had a shot at the end of the Texas game. And it’s why they were able to put Auburn away in the fourth quarter (a big time fourth-down stop by Nathan Robinson and some huge runs from Bishop).

I know everyone wants the flashy offense — and that’s certainly something that needs to get figured out — but the competitive makeup of this team is elite. And that alone can take a team a long way.