Saturday was the first time in 2022 that Tennessee had to answer the bell after a loss. The Vols did that to the tune of a record-setting offensive output. The final numbers were impressive. Josh Heupel‘s offense set the school record for total offense in a single game. Quarterback Hendon Hooker re-asserted himself in the Heisman race. And the Vols put 66 points on Missouri’s 13th ranked defense in the country.
But it wasn’t perfect, as Missouri got within four points in the third quarter. Tennessee responded with 38 unanswered points and crushed the Tigers’ upset bid.
Tennessee Vols Game Grades Missouri Edition
Offense: B+
If you want to know how potent this Tennessee offense is, they set a program record for total offense (724 yards) in a game where they didn’t execute particularly well on several occasions. Specifically in the last drive of the first half and the first drive of the second half, when Tennessee could have buried Missouri, they couldn’t put together enough first downs to score some points. But when the offense did get going, they really got going.
Offensive Stat of the Game: Tennessee 724 total yards of offense
Quarterback: A-
Hooker had a nice response to his uncharacteristic performance last week in Georgia. He accounted for 405 yards of offense (355 yards passing, 50 yards rushing) and four total touchdowns (3 passing, 1 rushing). Hooker continues to be efficient, getting those 355 yards on only 23 completions. The Vols signal caller was 23-for-35 (67%) as the Vols had more rushes on the day than passing. Hooker was off on a few passes, especially twice deep in Tigers’ territory. The only significant knock on Hooker was his decision-making on fourth down, where he took a sack on fourth down twice. With the caliber of receivers at his disposal, it’s better to put the ball up and see if a receiver can make a play on the ball in those situations.
Joe Milton was able to get some action today. Milton had an impressive moon shot of a pass that traveled 65 yards in the office and had the height of a punt.
Running Backs: A-
Not to be overlooked by Hooker’s performance is the 264 yards rushing Tennessee gained on Saturday. The Vols didn’t get their running attack going until the second half, and that was one reason why Tennessee couldn’t pull away until late in the third quarter. Jabari Small and Jaylen Wright earned the tough yards today combining for 105 yards on 20 carries. But it was Dylan Sampson that shined at the back position today. Sampson’s break-away speed was on display as he had eight carries for 98 years.
Receivers: B
Vols receiver Cedric Tillman didn’t play on Saturday, but that didn’t stop the Vols receiver corps. Jalin Hyatt continued his assault on the record book with seven receptions for 146 yards and one touchdown. Hyatt now leads the SEC with 1,116 receiving yards and 15 touchdowns. Depending on the results from Saturday night’s game, Hyatt will be at least over 300 yards and five touchdowns clear of the second leading receiver in those categories in the SEC. Hyatt had two key drops on the first drive of the third quarter. It didn’t hurt Tennessee in the end, but it allowed Missouri to get within four in the second half.
Bru McCoy had his third 100-yard receiving game of the season. McCoy continues to provide key possession receptions and physicality on the edge.
Offensive Line: C+
Missouri’s biggest success on the day was on the line of scrimmage. Tennessee’s front five couldn’t really establish dominance until the second half when Tennessee’s tempo started to wear down the Missouri front four. That led to the key fourth down sacks on Hooker in the first half and three sacks overall.
Additionally, the line committed multiple holding calls which frustrated two Tennessee drives.
Defense: C+
Missouri scored more against Tennessee on Saturday (24) than they had scored against any Power 5 team this season. Sophomore Brady Cook had his best day as the Tigers’ signal caller. Cook gashed the Vols’ defense on the ground and had moments of success through the air. Cook had 217 yards through the air and another 106 yards on the ground, totaling 323 total yards of offense.
Fortunately for Tennessee, the Tigers couldn’t find another viable option on the ground and Missouri just couldn’t keep up with the Vols’ offense. Once Missouri got to within 28-24 early in the third quarter, Tennessee’s defense shut down the Tigers for the remainder of the game.
Defensive Stat of the Game: Missouri 5-for-17 (29%) on 3rd Down Conversions.
Defensive Line: B-
Tennessee’s defensive line wasn’t as dominant as they have been in recent weeks. Cook’s mobility negated a lot of Tennessee’s aggressiveness on the pass rush. Without a linebacker spying Cook, he was able to gain large chunks of yardage when he escaped the pocket. The Vols did hold the rest of the Missouri rushers to 66 yards, and that includes a swing pass that went for a rushing touchdown. Tyler Baron had a monster day. Baron had four tackles, four tackles-for-loss (TFLs),
Linebackers: C
Tennessee’s linebackers had an up-and-down day on Saturday. As stated above, they weren’t able to stop Cook when he left the pocket. Tennessee had to start spying Cook in the second half. Aaron Beasley had a mental mistake that turned a Missouri field goal into a touchdown in the second quarter. And, as usual, there was room for improvement in the pass coverage. Juwan Mitchell had the best game on paper with six tackles and a quarterback hurry.
Defensive Backs: C-
The secondary regressed on Saturday after a good performance on Saturday. Brandon Turnage couldn’t capitalize on two interception opportunities. Doneiko Slaughter took a poor angle on a Missouri touchdown reception. The secondary allowed a touchdown reception on a fourth-down pass after running into each other. And there were countless missed tackles in the short and intermediate Missouri passing attack.
Special Teams: A-
Chase McGrath converted his only attempt of the day, a 49-yard attempt. There were no coverage breakdowns or poor kicks. The only mark against the Tennessee special teams was a penalty on a long punt return that cost Tennessee 50 yards in hidden yardage.
Coaching: B
Three key observations on the coaching performance in this game. First, the game plan was solid and the team was prepared coming off the loss last week at Georgia. The execution was shaky in the first half, but the team was ready and the game plan was solid. Second, the halftime adjustments on the defensive side were effective and stopped the Missouri offense after their first drive in the second half. And third, Heupel continued to attack late in the game, including adding a garbage time touchdown with less than a minute to go in the game. It’s to impress the College Football Playoff committee and everyone knows that. It’s good to see Heupel trying to put the Vols in the best light on the national scene, but Missouri fans will tuck that away.
Looking Ahead
Tennessee travels to South Carolina next week to face a Gamecocks squad that didn’t look good against Florida on Saturday. The Vols want to get back on solid footing after their last away game at Georgia. It will be another opportunity for Tennessee to make a statement to the CFP committee and continue its best season in twenty years.
