Tennessee Game Grades: Kentucky Edition
A season on the brink lives another week. With three losses, locker room turmoil, and a resurgent Kentucky team, Tennessee fans didn’t quite know what to expect with this week’s game against the Wildcats. They got some good (Offense), some bad (Special Teams), and some ugly (Defense). But the hopes of a Division Championship remain alive. Here’s this week’s grades for another Tennessee win in November.
Tennessee Game Grades: Kentucky Tech Edition
Offense: A
For the second straight week, Tennessee’s offense was in rhythm and scored seven touchdowns. However, for the second straight week Tennessee’s offense played a sub-par defense.
Offensive Stat of the Game: Joshua Dobbs: 14 Rushes, 147 Rush Yards
Quarterback: A
Finally, the Joshua Dobbs we expected to see in 2016. Dobbs has an inexplicably low number of carries this season and was only averaging 35.9 rush yards per game entering today’s contest. His rushing attempts statistic is inflated due to the number of scrambles he’s had to utilize to escape pressure in the pocket. But almost every single carry today was a called run play. More importantly than Dobbs’ sheer numbers is the fact that he was almost perfect in his give/pull read. His decision-making, off most of the season, was excellent today. In addition to his 147 rush yards, Dobbs added a very efficient 223 yards passing. He was 11/18 (61%) and had a requisite number of down-field throws. This is the blueprint for winning the remaining games for Tennessee. A late first half interception was the only blemish on his report card for today.
Running Backs: A
Another strong game for the running back corps. Alvin Kamara did not disappoint in his return from injury, going for 128 yards on 10 carries. Kamara was able to cut through a Kentucky defense that seemed porous at times. John Kelly continues his strong second-half of the season with 94 tough yards on 16 carries. Kelly was six yards shy of giving Tennessee three 100-yard rushers. Kentucky’s front seven couldn’t contain Tennessee’s trio of dynamic runners. The Vols totaled a staggering 376 yards of rushing offense, averaging more than 9 yards per rushing attempt. Those are impressive numbers, no matter who you are playing.
Receivers: A
More gaudy numbers. 223 reception yards on just 11 receptions. The only drawback to today’s passing performance? Only five players registered a reception and only two of those had more than one reception. Josh Malone continued to torment the Wildcats with another 50-plus yard touchdown reception, this time on a flea-flicker. And Ethan Wolf had four critical catches across the middle, including a ten yard touchdown reception. Tyler Bird continues a very strong freshman campaign at the receiver position.
Offensive Line: A-
As mentioned earlier, Tennessee put up 376 yards of rushing offense. However, the line did suffer a key injury and allowed two big sacks and five tackles-for-a-loss (TFL). The front five continued their strong execution, following up the Tennessee Tech performance with another good assignment blocking performance. They’ll have to shore up their pass protection, as both Missouri and Vanderbilt will present a much tougher test on the defensive front.
Defense: D
As good as the offense was, the defense was equally bad. Don’t let the 13 point margin fool you, Tennessee didn’t dominate as much as that score indicates. A look at the numbers: Kentucky rushed for 443 yards. Four. Hundred. And. Forty. Three. Yards. 635 total yards. 29 first downs. 35:21 time of possession. If Kentucky had any passing attack at all, the Wildcats may have walked out of Neyland Stadium with a win. Oh, and let’s not forget that Tennessee gave up two late touchdowns to a team down 27 with less than four minutes to go.
Defensive Stat of the Game: Kentucky with 443 rushing yards.
Defensive Line: D
Everyone knows the line is depleted with injuries. That’s part of the game. But Kentucky’s offensive line owned the line of scrimmage today. The defensive line wasn’t able to eat up space and fill running lanes. Three of the top four tacklers in the game were defensive backs. That’s not a good look. You can expect that Missouri and Vanderbilt will run, run, and run some more. The only saving grace for the defensive line was the pass rush. Derek Barnett inches closer to the Tennessee record books as he and LaTroy Lewis both record one sack and 1.5 TFL. Corey Vereen had a great day, with five total tackles, two sacks, and three TFLs. Tennessee must find some effective depth at defensive line if they want to be competitive in any high-level postseason games.
Linebackers: F
Let’s be clear. The 443 yards of Kentucky rushing wasn’t completely on the defensive line. The Volunteer linebackers accounted for a grand total of ten solo tackles against a team that ran the ball 55 times. Much of Kentucky’s running success came on the edge. The linebackers struggled all day long to set the edge, fill the running lanes, make good reads, and — most importantly — get off the blocks of the Kentucky offensive linemen. The Wildcats big men lived in the second-level today and dominated Tennessee’s linebackers. This is a major concern with Vanderbilt coming up in two weeks.
Defensive Backs: B
The defensive backs were easily the best defensive unit today. They were, however, going up against a much weaker passing attack. The defensive backs had three of the top four tacklers and four of the top seven. They also accounted for an interception and two TFLs. Pass defense was solid, although Kentucky did have two pass completions over 20 yards. Cameron Sutton looked solid in his return, as Kentucky largely stayed away from his side. Rashaan Gaulden had another outstanding game. He’s quietly having the best season of the defensive backs — and it’s not even close. Micah Abernathy and Todd Kelly, Jr. also had solid games coming up from their safety positions.
Special Teams: C-
Josh Smith had a fumbled punt return and Cortez McDowell whiffed on a late game on-side kick. These are mistakes that Tennessee didn’t make on special teams last season. Tennessee’s coverage teams and return teams played even with the Wildcats, which is also a little disappointing.
Coaching: A
Head Coach Butch Jones has kept this team focused after a disappointing loss to South Carolina and turmoil two weeks ago. There’s credit to be given there. With all of the expectations coming into this season, sitting at 5-3 after the South Carolina loss was a humbling experience for this Volunteers team.
This was a perfect match-up for a Mike DeBord offensive game plan. And it showed. This was reminiscent of both the Iowa and Northwestern bowl games of the last two seasons as far as play calling goes. The increased use of Joshua Dobbs is encouraging for Tennessee fans.
Defense, however, is another question. Bob Shoop received tons of praise during the first half of the season, especially for his second half adjustments. But the Tennessee defense — not sure if we’ve mentioned this — have up 443 yards of rushing offense (and 635 overall) to Kentucky. That’s not going to be an enjoyable film session. The defense must be better prepared against Missouri and, especially, Vanderbilt.
Looking Ahead
Next Week: Missouri. The Tigers beat Vanderbilt today and are an up-and-down team. They played West Virginia close, but they’ve looked awful at times this season. The Florida-LSU game will go final before the kick-off or shortly thereafter, so Tennessee will know whether or not they are playing for the SEC East Division lead.
Tennessee is hanging in there. The dream season was lost long ago. But they still have a chance at a Division title. While it won’t be exactly as expected, it’s still a step in the right direction. To get there, they still need some help and cannot afford any more slip ups.
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