KNOXVILLE, Tene – It’s easy to get carried away for the first two weeks of the Tennessee season. The flights were meant to be larger than those in South Carolina and Missouri.
However, in Saturday’s 35-12 win over the Tigers at Neyland Stadium, general expectations came true:
Flights are higher this season.
How much better? We’ll identify him soon as part of a vicious schedule with Georgia and Alabama in two of the next three weeks. If Tennessee can’t oppose those rivalries by 2020, the flights will at least be more competitive.
Here’s why: if you can throw the ball and avoid the race, hard to beat at any level.
The Vols totaled 232 yards and four touchdowns against the Tigers on Saturday. Ty Chandler and Eric Gray totaled 195 yards in 35 hauls. That Tennessee plan, Coach Jeremy Pruitt said, is to execute him even if he opposes Missouri’s “bad looks. “Flights may have done it anyway.
It’s a very positive sign, as smart as any Tennessee team for years at such an early level of the season.
“The first component of being in the racing game is that you have to do it,” Pruitt said. “You have to say, “We need to identify the racing game, ” and I feel like we did. “
Tennessee’s racing game so far this season has hinted at an ability to do anything The Flights haven’t been able to do constantly for a long time: dictate the terms of a game and physically.
Teams that can defeat war parties on scrum lines don’t have to worry so much anywhere else. If your greats can put pressure on others, it doesn’t matter if your quarterback is hot or bloodless at the time. is rebuilding or if a depleted high school has problems, allowing too many important games.
The difference between Tennessee now and Tennessee at other promising crossroads in recent years is in the direction of scrum. This is where the games are in the SEC, and Pruitt knows it. It’s built up front and it’s starting to show up. .
After two weeks, the Vols’ defense had catches and threw 3. 4 yards consistent with the race.
And while the Vols offensive line looked like last week, Cade Mays’ debut Saturday makes them an even scarier organization that used several other twists opposed to Missouri.
“Cade is a wonderful asset to this football team,” quarterback Jarrett Guarantano said. “We have 8 or nine players of intensity who are very smart football players on the offensive line, so they can connect anywhere. “
Supporter Henry To’o To’o said, “We have the offensive line in the country. “
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Pruitt lamented the pass coverage opposite Missouri’s, but admitted: “Somehow we controlled the line of hit for a while.
The thing is, this Tennessee offensive deserves not to have to rely too much on the pass.
With competent advocates in Chandler (averaging 5. 5 yards consistent with a career) and Gray (5. 4), in any case, the Flightes rely more on their ground play, as they did in front of Missouri, having not done enough against South Carolina.
The mere fact of winning 31-27 at Palmetto State last week was pretty good, even if the lasting impression that the Gamecocks lost this game more than the Flight won. South Carolina would have had the ball with the chance to score a winning game in the final moments if a clearing kick hadn’t hit one of its players in the leg, allowing Tennessee to pounce on it.
It hasn’t come to that. The flights lost a 14-point lead and then didn’t take the opportunity in the last quarter to put the game aside (seven afternoon, why are you throwing, Jim Chaney?)
No fuss. Flights have faced a limited number of educational sessions prior to this season. I sense that, however, it’s time to start discussing a higher standard. Expressing discontent over a victory on the SEC Road for Tennessee is a tortuous compliment, a nod to Pruitt’s developing expectations of Third Season.
Those are justified, even more so in week 2. He left a door open in South Carolina, but he did not oppose Missouri.
Clearly, we’ll know more next week. Pruitt reiterated Saturday how Georgia has players and coaches.
“But, ” he added, “we too. “
Follow Gentry Estes on Twitter @Gentry_Estes.