Special Teams
Nathanael: A
I’ll go ahead and give Tennessee’s special teams unit an “A” for this one. The Vols blocked a PAT, were perfect in the kicking game, and Joe Doyle pinned South Carolina back with both his punts. Ty Chandler even had a decent kick-off return, bringing it back for 27 yards. The Vols contained a very dangerous returner in Deebo Samuel, and they once again didn’t allow a punt return. The special teams really didn’t get asked to do a whole lot on Saturday, but they shined when they were on the field.
Ben: B+
The reason this isn’t an ‘A’ is because of Tennessee’s coverage unit on kickoffs. South Carolina didn’t break-off a huge return, but Deebo Samuel averaged 34 yards a return on three opportunities. It wasn’t awful, but Tennessee’s kickoff coverage needs to tighten up.
Elsewhere, Brent Cimaglia was a perfect 1-for-1, making his lone field goal attempt from 45-yards out. He was 3-of-3 on extra-point attempts. Joe Doyle was phenomenal with his punting. The redshirt freshman out of Farragut averaged 52 yards on both his punts. Doyle’s long punt on the day went 54 yards and flipped the field.
