Coaching
Daniel: The first two drives were as well-planned as I’ve seen since Butch Jones has been at Tennessee and that gave UT 10 early points and the momentum. I liked some of the wrinkles. The two-back set and leaving a tight end in the backfield at times helped with the protection in some situations. Feeding Hurd was a good call as well. I thought the game plan on both sides of the ball was pretty sound. The offense got a little stagnant at times and it fell behind the chains too many times. Defensively, the first-half plan of attack was perfect. A heavy dose of 4-3 and 4-4 kept Georgia’s run game limited and the DBs won most of their 1-on-1 battles. Obviously they got a little bit mentally and physically worn down, allowing Gurley to make big plays at the end. You can nitpick the onside call at the end, but there’s a strong argument for either way there. Again, I’m sure there are calls that not everybody agreed with and I would’ve done a few things differently as well, but when a staff takes a young team on the road and puts it in position to have a chance late, that’s a job well done. Wins need to come. And I think they will soon. Overall, it was a good job. Grade: B+
Houston: I thought that this team was ready to play and believed that they were going to win. The play calling on offense seemed to be hit-or-miss at times, but overall I thought Bajakian called a pretty good game given the circumstances. John Jancek continues to impress me from a schematic standpoint, his group just isn’t deep enough to hold off Todd Gurley for four quarters – and few are. Butch Jones is extremely active on the sideline and appears to know the rules of the game better than most officials, so much so that officials penalize him when he calls them out on it. This team’s struggles right now are based on talent, depth and experience; not coaching. This team is starting to find their identity on both sides of the ball, and that doesn’t bode well for the visiting Gators this weekend. Grade: A-
Reed: You can always nitpick calls here and there but it’s tough for even the harshest critics to say this was a poorly coached game. Tennessee’s plan to start the game had the Bulldogs on their heels and UT’s final drive before the half was masterfully called and executed. The offense bogged down at times and should probably go to their uptempo attack more often. The staff gets credit for rolling out more two-back sets and a wildcat package this week. Defensively, Tennessee’s game plan limited Georgia’s offense until they just wore down. Bottom line: the staff put the players in a position to win the game. If the Vols are able to execute a couple more plays, they win this one. Grade: A-
