Coaching
Daniel: I like what Butch Jones did with Joshua Dobbs late. The passing game just wasn’t there and Jalen Hurd was out, so he turned him into a runner and got enough production from him to get the win. They were limited schematically with the injuries across the board and that issue got even larger when Hurd went down. So it’s hard to blast the coaches too much, even though the results weren’t as impressive as what many people were looking for. That being said, the cold reality is that the Vols were within a few plays of what would’ve been a catastrophic loss for this program and this staff. That can’t be completely ignored. I thought Von Pearson needed a few more touches and I thought calling a play that gave Dobbs the option to force it downfield on third and forever in the second half was a little too risky given the flow of the game. Still, they got the job done despite the somewhat lackluster performance and are going bowling. This program took a step overall this regular season. I just didn’t think Saturday was a great example of the progress it’s made. Grade: C
Houston: As the injuries started to pile up and the talent gap began to close ever so slightly, I thought Tennessee’s coaching staff was smart to shrink the playbook and play a more conservative brand of football. When it was clear that Dobbs was struggling with accuracy and control, and Jalen Hurd was ruled out for the night, the staff did exactly what they needed to do to avoid losing this game. It was boring, yes, but it was the best way to avoid mistakes and use field position and better athletes on defense to secure the victory. I know some people wanted this team to hang 70 points, but the injuries and a struggling quarterback made that impossible. Credit the coaches for playing for the win and not risky style points. Grade: B-
Reed: Injuries clearly played a role in Tennessee’s underwhelming win, but it was a win. Learning to grind out wins in less than ideal circumstances is an important step for this team and Tennessee took a step in that direction against Vanderbilt. It wasn’t pretty, though. Charleston Southern (FCS), Umass and Temple all outgained the Commodores this year. In fact, Vanderbilt outgained just two opponents this season – Old Dominion and Tennessee (272-262). The Vol offense lacked imagination and consistently struggled to get the ball the playmakers. Pearson needed more touches. The staff was smart to ride Dobbs’ legs late in the game, a decision that gave the Vols their best shot a victory. Tennessee’s defense stepped up and made some huge plays when the game was on the line. Grade: C-
Average Grade: C
