Saturday, November 2, 2019

Tennessee Did Exactly What Was Expected Of Them


Tonight’s Vol victory over UAB was nothing more than exactly what it was supposed to be. It was what we all thought the Georgia State game was going to be, a dominant performance against an overmatched Group of Five team.
The Vols nearly doubled UAB’s rushing output (121 to 63), held the football for almost 8 more minutes, picked up 20 first downs, and won the turnover battle four to one. Bryce Thompson killed the UAB offense in the first half by tying a school record with three interceptions, and Jauan Jennings added another strong outing to his senior season, as he finished with 70 receiving yards and a rushing touchdown.
Ty Chandler continues to be the best and most consistent running back on the roster. He turned his 16 carries into 85 yards and a touchdown. Eric Gray couldn't get much going tonight on the ground (8 carries, 8 yards), but he did catch a touchdown pass, the first score of his Vol career. 
If there’s a complaint about the game, it’s that the Vols could’ve won by even more than they did. Their first three scoring drives ended with field goals, and Jarrett Guarantano threw an endzone interception right before the half that got him screamed at by Pruitt. Amazing, I didn’t think it was possible to coach a guy hard without putting your hands on his facemask. That’s all I heard from Bubba in Bulls Gap the last two weeks.
The offense was far from crisp, and UAB certainly deserves some credit for that, because again, this is a good, capable defense, even if they are just a Group of Five team. But in reality, the lackluster Vol performance had more to do with the lack of quality quarterback play. I’m not going to rip JG too hard here because the guy literally had hand surgery less than a week ago, but he clearly was affected by his hand and his performance was the complete opposite of what it was last week. All of which makes me wonder why he was even out there in the first place.
I’m assuming we aren’t going to see too much of Brian Maurer the rest of the year, if at all, due to his multiple concussions, but with JG banged up, why not play Shrout more tonight? He only threw six passes the entire game. Would he have been significantly worse than what Guarantano gave them? I don’t think so. All of this is probably moot if Harrison Bailey is as good as everyone hopes he is, but if he’s not, wouldn’t it be nice for a guy like Shrout, who could potentially be the starter next year, to get as many live game reps as possible? Or is Pruitt planning on Guarantano being the starter next year also? I can’t imagine that would be the case. Right?
Regardless, the Vols did what they needed to do tonight, and what they should always do in games like this, which is win by more than three touchdowns and hold the opposition to less than 240 yards of offense.
They’re 4-5 now, and only need to win two of their final three to go to a bowl game for the first time since 2016. If they play like they did against South Carolina last week, they could win all three. None of their remaining opponents are scary. But if the offense is a clunky as it was this week the rest of the season, that Vanderbilt game in Knoxville could be a must-win. Let’s hope they figure it out.

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