Defensive Line
Nathanael: D+
I thought this unit was going to be the best performers of the night at the start of the game. But as the contest wore on, their performance just got worse and worse. Shy Tuttle burst out of the gates and showed off a great motor when he made an athletic play to intercept a tipped pass and later blocked a PAT. Kyle Phillips was the one who tipped that pass, and he and Alexis Johnson combined to get a big sack. But as the game progressed, the line started to wear down and couldn’t generate a pass rush or stop the the running backs. They got blown off the line of scrimmage far too often, and they’re a big reason why South Carolina managed over 200 rushing yards as a team.
Ben: D+
Tennessee’s defensive line didn’t play winning football on Saturday and regressed as the game went along. Alexis Johnson and Kyle Phillips combined for a sack in the first quarter, but after that, the D-line didn’t produce game-winning plays. As a whole, the group did a really poor job of getting off blocks. As a result, Rico Dowdle rushed for 140 yards on 14 carries. That’ll get you beat nine times out of 10 in the SEC. The group also did a poor job of generating constant pressure on Jake Bentley. Phillips played the best out of the group. He tipped a pass that led to a Shy Tuttle interception, assisted on a sack, had 1.5 tackles for a loss, produced a quarterback hurry, and recorded six tackles.
