Tennessee football rose from a likely upset victim to a possible dark horse SEC East title contender in the eyes of some media-types Sunday night.
Who could blame a pundit for exalting the Vols after a dominating win over Utah State?
UT looked terrible on its first possession but soon corrected to a level of offensive sufficiency that it sustained throughout a 38-7 win over a respectable – albeit mid-major – opponent.
The defense swarmed to the football and made life difficult on Utah State’s Chuckie Keeton, a quarterback that many, myself included, expected to wreak havoc on the Vols.
Instead, Keeton looked uncomfortable throughout the game.
That is an encouraging sign for seniors in the newly named “Rocky Top Rowdies” student section who would like to attend a bowl game before they leave this university without pursuing a degree from the law school while they wait.
But the Vols must still find answers to numerous questions before those who predicted them to finish at 5-7 (looking at myself) should repent for their pessimism.
Foremost on the list of concerns is UT’s running game. Overlooked in the revelry of a dominant season-opening victory is that zero of the Vols’ 39 rushing attempts netted a gain of 10 yards or more.
That harkens flashbacks to the 2012 season when a pass-happy offense led by Tyler Bray slung the football around the field to such weapons as Justin Hunter, Cordarrelle Patterson and Mychal Rivera.
Similar talent has returned to UT’s perimeter, and on paper the backfield is better this year than in 2012 when the Vols failed to generate 100 yards on the ground against three SEC opponents.
Marlin Lane and highly-touted freshman Jalen Hurd have the talent to be dangerous but sputtered to a combined 75 yards on 22 carries behind UT’s unproven offensive line on Sunday.
Performances like that will not cut it against the elite defenses looming on Tennessee’s schedule, all of whom feature a secondary more capable of containing UT’s passing game than Utah State’s defensive backfield proved to be.
The impetus lies on the shoulders of an all-new group of linemen to generate holes for Lane and Hurd.
Lane is a capable back but he’s no magician, and Hurd cannot be expected to simply run over and around defenders at this level like he did at Beech High School in Hendersonville.
However, if running lanes do start regularly appearing, the performance of UT’s defense and passing game against Utah State indicate that the Vols are a team hungry enough to sprint all the way to a bowl game.
Extra point: A sold-out student section embraced the “Third Down for What” rallying cry on Sunday and appeared to stay engaged through much of the night. UT coach Butch Jones praised the effort of the “Rocky Top Rowdies” after the game.
“Now here’s my challenge,” he said. “We need you at noon Saturday.”
This week’s Arkansas State game is at noon, a time that is traditionally less appealing to student ticket buyers.
I propose that if students once again purchase their entire allotment, Jones allow them to vote on which game UT will wear its gray uniforms this year.
David Cobb is a senior in journalism and electronic media and former Daily Beacon sports editor. He can be reached at [email protected].
