Tennessee should feel they have a good chance to go into Alabama with a full head of steam. Texas A&M hasn’t won on the road in around two years. But a closer look should give Knoxville fans cause to worry. This is a team playing hard. When they win, they have won mostly convincingly, with the tightest win being against Arkansas by 12. The defense plays rough, and is especially tough to run on, a great strength against the UT offense. They played Bama hard last week, falling late with a comeback falling short. Meanwhile, the Volunteers still feel like a team looking to figure out how to get their offense moving consistently. To add to the tension, UT chose today to Checkerboard the stands, and also the team is honoring All-American Eric Berry. If TAMU pulls off the upset, it will likely deflate the team and fanbase moving forward.
Tennessee started with the ball, but a good push by the Aggie defensive line stopped the drive short. They drove back the Vols’ line and tackled the running back for a loss. The play demonstrated the TAMU defense and UT offense had conflicting strengths. But as the day moved on, it was the home team which gained the advantage, however slight. The team compiled nearly 250 yards on the ground, including the three sacks for 16 yards lost. On actual run plays, the team gained over 250 yards on 45 carries. It was Jaylen Wright who was the go to guy. He had the longest rush on the day, and was the only running back to average over 4 yards per carry. But the pass game was, once again, failing to elevate the run game, and Tennessee had multiple drives stall, turning over the ball on downs, missed field goals, and thrown picks
The defense was put on skates early. Penalties also helped the visiting team along, even with the officials not calling Tyler Barron for a face masking near the goal line on TAMU’s first drive. UT allowed the Aggies to drive 80 yards in 9 plays, and an early 7-0 lead their first time with the ball. The defense next got a quick three-and-out after a UT turnover on downs, but the drive after that one netted TAMU a field goal. The defense was mostly successful from there. Five plays and turnover on downs, back-to-back three-and-out drives, then a pair of long drives resulting in one made and one missed field goal.
For much of the game, following Texas A&M taking the lead on a touchdown right off their first drive, there was little excitement. Neither defense made great plays. Many times, the defense missed tackles or assignments, but frequently passes were dropped or runners slipped, failing to capitalize on defensive miscues. Twice, with the Aggies getting going, an offensive lineman stepped on their own QBs foot, taking him down for losses, and helping the Vols out tremendously. In truth, neither team as a whole played particularly well during the vast majority of the game.
It was the punt teams which broke the monotony of the game. After some early excitement, the offenses of both teams were missing opportunities the defenses left open. The game was sitting at 10-7, advantage TAMU. It had been that score since the early second quarter. About halfway through the 3rd frame, punter Jackson Ross booted it beautifully, and Dee WIlliams downed it at the 1-yard line. UT’s defense held tight, though, and the TAMU punter, squeezed up tight against the backline, punted short, but low. Return man Dee Williams had been eager for a return all day. He had been calling fair catches the entire afternoon. With the low kick, the coverage team had been unable to get to him early. Williams took it 39 yards for a score, and UT’s first lead on the day.
The Aggies stormed back. Despite some negative plays, QB Max Johnson played hard, took hits, and benefited from a great job by his receiver fighting back for a deep gain. Refs tacked on a late hit penalty to put TAMU in the red zone. Threatening a score inside the 10-yard line, the Vols brought the heat. James Pearce blew across the LTs shoulder, and put Johnson in the dirt, but not before he threw the ball toward the front pylon of the endzone. Johnson’s pass was still nearly accurate, falling a yard outside his receiver’s hands, and the Aggies settled for a field goal to pull within one point, 14-13.
In the fourth quarter, Tennessee’s offense was bailed out by its defense. While the only consistent and effective ball movement came from Jaylen Wright, it was not enough to generate a lot of points. The defense, though, drove back TAMU after they came within field goal range, with James Pearce pulling down the running back behind the line of scrimmage on a pass to the flat. A&M missed the ensuing attempt missed, allowing Tennessee to drive for a field goal. Next, Pearce applied heavy pressure to Johnson on a pass, and the attempt sailed over his receiver, landing in the hands of cornerback Gabe Jeudy-Lally, setting up another field goal and a 20-13 lead. Looking to ice the game, Pearce again applied pressure. Johnson forced the ball down the middle of the field, and Kamel Hadden tipped the ball to himself for a game sealing interception. It wasn’t pretty. In fact, it was Heupel’s first win with UT when his team did not score 30 points, and the only time he has won when trailing at halftime. But, it was a win.
The biggest weakness for the offense continues to be Joe Milton. Despite holding flags thrown on the left side blockers which pushed back the offense time and again, Milton is the one causing the team to stumble. The first offensive drive stalled because of him. He failed to run hard for a first down on 3rd, relying on an offsides call to give them a second chance, which his offense failed to convert. Later, on 4th down, he refused to run hard again, and looked to pass, eventually throwing the ball out of bounds. I repeat; on 4th down, he threw the ball out of bounds. His passes have been inaccurate downfield, he has missed open receivers deep, and it is the first game I have seen where his decision making actually looks bad instead of just the pass being late due to slow delivery. When he fakes a run after handing off the ball, no one goes with him, which has resulted in his running backs getting swarmed on 3rd and short conversion attempts. To rectify this, Heupel called intentional QB runs, forcing Milton to run up the gut and take hits. Due to Milton’s terrible accuracy on throws beyond the sticks, the defense needs to game plan for his feet more than his deep throws. But given Milton’s aversion to tucking and running, the defense never even plays it. Without Milton hitting deep, and his unwillingness to escape the pocket, the offense needs to rely fully on the running backs. He finally made an intentional run for nearly 20 yards on the first play of the 4th quarter, lowering his shoulder to drive through a tackler. Milton, of course, made up for it by throwing an easy pick to the middle safety, again showing his bad decision making on the day. But Heupel did not give up on his QB, making multiple draw plays into the second half calling to ensure teams need to start considering him a running threat. It paid off, as Milton also elected to scamper on a long developing pass play.
The defense is lacking at the linebacker spot. To still sound like a broken record, they need Keenan Pili back. He played very well in the first game, and has not seen the field since. Frequently, when the Aggies run up the middle, the substitute ‘backers are getting swallowed up in traffic. Twice, on back-to-back plays in the second quarter, Texas A&M converted a 3rd and 17 and then got a big gain for a first because UT defenders ran into each other in the middle, negating each other and allowing first time to complete a big pass, then allowing a big run after the catch. But the pressure from the front four and the opportunistic defense came through in the end, especially nursing a lead in the fourth quarter. That is where Tennessee’s defense is at its best, pinning back its ears and charging forward to pressure the passer.
This is a team which has the ability to win against anyone. It finally won dirty. But it is also a team which can lose to anyone, with a dozen penalties on the day, dropped passes for sure touchdowns, terrible passes for missed scores, and bad O-Line play keeping their QB under pressure, or killing drives with holding penalties. Tennessee cannot play this dirty and still expect to beat Alabama next week. Then again, Bama has not looked much better than UT.
Meaning… I’m telling you there’s a chance.