Overall
Daniel: The good news? Tennessee got the job done – beating a quality football team by a couple of scores and avoiding an early-season upset that could’ve really derailed the season. But it wasn’t a huge step forward for the team. The overall energy and rhythm weren’t there as much as it was last week, and while a lot of credit goes to a talented Arkansas State team, it’s also fair to say that the Vols were flat at times. It was a good example of finding a way to win despite not everything going great, though it was also a reminder that this team still has a long way to go. Grade: B-
Houston: ASU was a much more talented team than the Utah State team Tennessee faced last week and the Vols remained comfortably ahead for the majority of the game. The defense did a good job of keeping Knighten bottled up outside of a few drives and the offense built a lead early and did enough late in the game to keep ASU at bay. Tons to work on and improve before next week’s trip to Norman, but the Vols beat a solid team by 15 points on a day where they didn’t play their best football. Grade: B-
Reed: Arkansas State had enough weapons to win this game if Tennessee played poorly but that didn’t happen. The Vols did what they had to do to win this one. Still, the Vols didn’t look like an much improved squad from last week – something Butch Jones was hoping to see. The running game was better but still managed just 3.7 ypc against a team that gave up nearly 5 yards per carry last year. The Vol passing game is still O-fer in passes downfield and the defense wasn’t quite as disruptive as last week. Grade: B-
