Defensive Line
Daniel: You could look at the first 55 minutes of the game and give the defensive line a pretty mediocre-to-low grade. But when the chips were down, the d-line played its best football of the year by far. The pass rush was relentless in the final minutes of regulation and in overtime. It went a huge way in helping the Vols pull this one out. Derek Barnett continues to be everywhere. He finished with three more sacks, upping his season total to seven and putting him in the conversation for some freshman records. Maggitt made some very nice plays off the edge as well when his hand was in the ground. They did struggle with SC’s big line for much of the night, not getting consistent push and getting cleared out of run games. But it’s hard to grade the d-line too poorly when they make game-changing plays like that at the end. Grade: B-
Houston: It was really a tale of two halves for Tennessee’s defensive line in this game, but they are going to get a lot of credit from me for turning it on when it mattered most. Derek Barnett and Curt Maggitt combined for five sacks on the night, none bigger than the two they strung together in three plays on South Carolina’s overtime drive. They missed some tackles at times and allowed Thompson to roll out with too much ease at times, but when they needed plays down the stretch they got them. I have to deduct them for giving up some big runs at inopportune times, but they deserve a lot of credit for this win. Grade: B
Reed: Tennessee’s defensive line bounced back from a lackluster performance against Alabama and really impacted this game late. Derek Barnett had three sacks and pressured Dylan Thompson even more than that number shows. Curt Maggitt primarily played end and played very well. He’s clearly finding his stride and is playing the best football of his career. He had two big sacks, none bigger than his sack of Thompson on SC’s first play of overtime. Tennessee is banged up at defensive tackle and needs more depth and production from that position moving forward. South Carolina had too many running lanes for much of the game but the defensive line gets its grade bumped up for its performance when it mattered most. They were good against the pass and below average against the run. Grade: B-
Average Grade: B-
