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5. Run Game Help
Team 117 and Team 118 are both similar and dissimilar, and there’s not a single player that embodies that better than Josh Dobbs.
Last year, he got his first ever college action against Alabama when he came in for an injured Justin Worley. This year he got his first action of the season against the Tide, again thanks to a Justin Worley injury. And like last year, Dobbs gives the team an added dimension with his ability to run the ball.
In fact, he rushed 19 times for 75 yards on Saturday. His 19 carries (good for third most on the team for the entire year) may be a few too many for comfort for your quarterback, but one thing’s for certain. Just like last year, Dobbs will be an asset for the Tennessee running game. Only more so.
Because Team 117 had great success running the ball, amassing the highest rushing total since 1998. Which, if memory serves, was a decent little year on Rocky Top.
Team 118, however, has struggled mightily to run. With a quarterback like Dobbs who can tuck it and go, the offensive line’s job is a lot easier. Both in run and pass blocking. With Worley in the pocket, all defenders had to do was aim for the middle. With Dobbs, they have to maintain the edges which will open up some running lanes.
Which is why Jalen Hurd said this: “Dobbs did a great job giving the whole offense a different look. He did a great job of running, and you know, that opened things up a little for me, and the offensive line did a great job blocking, as well, along with the wide receivers.”
The eye test tells me that Dobbs has progressed as a quarterback. He made some very nice throws against Alabama on Saturday. Factor his mobility into a team that was one-dimensional before his arrival? Account for the overall increase in talent? Consider a defense that boasts a nasty front seven and a great back end? Throw in a schedule that, for once, isn’t a veritable murderer’s row?
Add all that up and you get the ultimate difference between last year’s team and this year’s.
Team 117 wasn’t a bowl team. But Team 118 sure looks like one.
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