Coaching
Nathanael: B+
The play-calling on offense was pretty vanilla for the most part, but that’s completely acceptable with how UT’s defense was playing. The defensive play-calling was great, and the execution from the players was even better. The reason I knock this some is due to Jeremy Pruitt’s management of Tennessee’s quarterbacks. It wasn’t nearly as bad as some fans online would try to make you believe, but I didn’t understand sticking with Guarantano as long as he did, especially considering Guarantano’s injury. I know the staff still doesn’t trust Shrout a great deal to run the offense to the same level as JG, but with the basic game plan Tennessee had in place, I think Shrout could’ve gotten more playing time.
Ben: A
Yet again, Tennessee’s coaches called a terrific game and had a great game plan in place. The defense nearly went six quarters without allowing a touchdown before UAB scored in the fourth quarter to end the shutout. Offensively, Jim Chaney called a good game, but the execution wasn’t necessarily the greatest, especially in the red zone. The game plan was good, and the execution was usually good.
