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Five quick takes

Tennessee got to 3-0 today with a 28-19 win over visiting Ohio, but the Vols battled some injuries and didn’t put the game away until the fourth quarter. Here are five quick takes on a closer than expected victory.

1 — Fast start, but… — Tennessee had been plagued by slow starts on both sides of the ball in each of its first two games. The Vols briefly appeared to have solved that problem today, zipping down the field in three plays and just :38 to take a 7-0 lead right off the bat after Josh Dobbs connected with Josh Malone on a 20-yard scoring strike. That drive looked gave the appearance that a blowout might be in the works. Instead, what fans were treated to was a first half that was as disjointed and injury-filled as anything they’ve seen in recent memory.

Already without Darrin Kirkland Jr, the Vols lost both Cam Sutton and Jalen Reeves-Maybin in the first quarter. With Justin Martin out with an injury and Malik Foreman suspended, those developments drastically altered the back end of the defense.

To their credit though, the Vols’ D held tough. It was their offensive counterparts, who were not saddled with injuries, that couldn’t manufacture any real momentum. Tennessee had a difficult time getting any push up front, had problems protecting the passer and as a result missed some opportunities down the field. It was a disturbing day for the offense and injuries can’t be used as an excuse on that side of the ball.

Meanwhile, Freshman Baylen Buchanan more than held his own in relief of Sutton and Cortez McDowell was solid at the WILL.

Tennessee obviously needs Reeves-Maybin and Sutton back if they’re going to compete in the SEC but the depth showed up on the defensive side of the ball today.

2 — Sloppy— Tennessee fumbled five times in this one but incredibly managed to recover them all, a fortunate turn of events to say the least. The Vols were also penalized nine times for 94 yards and some of those flags were extremely costly. The Vols one turnover was completely avoidable, an interception on a pass that hit Preston Williams squarely in the hands.

The Vols appeared to have stopped Ohio twice on the Bobcats’ first possession but extended the drive with a facemask and an offsides on two separate third downs. In the third quarter the Vols gave Ohio a first down on the five yard line when Emmanuel Moseley was flagged for pass interference.

Missed tackles looked like a big problem in the secondary in the first half and overall the Vols just didn’t look sharp. Just too many fundamental lapses and unforced errors that helped Ohio hang around all afternoon long.

Some might point to an early kickoff as a contributor, but it was early for both teams, and given the problems they’ve had to this point, there’s no excuse for this team to not show up ready to play.

3 — Sudden Change and Red Zone D — Credit where credit is due, the Vols’ D didn’t put up great numbers today but they buckled down when they had to. The Vols got a big stop in the first half after Preston Williams had a well-thrown ball bounce off his hands and into those of a Bobcat defender, putting Ohio in business at Tennessee’s 11 yard line. The Vols didn’t yield a yard and forced a field goal there to stay on top 7-6.

All told the Vols held Ohio to four field goals on four different trips inside the 20 yard line, which in hindsight, was enormous. The downside obviously is that the Bobcats managed to show up deep in Tennessee territory with some regularity. Only one of those appearances was the result of a turnover, otherwise, the Bobcats drove the ball right to the Vols’ doorstep but had to settle for field goals on all but one occasion.

As in the first two weeks, the defense got better as the game wore on, surrendering just 118 yards in the second half after giving up 200 in the first two quarters

4 — Kamara! — I’m hardly the only one clamoring for Kamara to get more touches, and he showed why that’s a popular opinion today. He scooted around the right end for a gain of 35 yards on the first play of the afternoon to set up the Vols first touchdown, showing his speed and big-play capability.

He finished with 73 yards on 12 touches (10 rushes, 2 catches) and just looks like he needs to be a bigger part of the question on offense, especially if the Vols continue to struggle to push the ball down the field in the passing game consistently, as appears highly likely.

5 — Let’s talk about the offensive line — Three games in now, there’s no getting around it, the offensive line isn’t where anyone thought it would be. Tennessee has now struggled in the trenches against a Sunbelt squad and MAC team. No disrespect intended to those opponents, but the Vols went for 127 yards rushing against Appalachian State, and only had 93 yards on the ground through three quarters today before two lengthy drives in the fourth quarter prettied up the stat sheet.

Of real concern is the fact that Ohio got to Dobbs three times for sacks and had a very worrisome eight tackles for loss. That last number is a problem. Tennessee’s offense struggles more than most when it gets behind the chains, and that was the case today.

The pass protection is limiting what few downfield passing opportunities this offense gives itself through either play calling or execution. Josh Malone is showing up consistently as someone who can make plays down the field when given the chance, but too often Dobbs is running for his life before those deep routes can develop.

Tennessee did juggle things up today, starting a new look up front with Coleman Thomas at right tackle, Jack Jones at right guard, Dylan Weisman at center, Jashon Robertson at left guard and Brett Kendrick at right tackle. That group went almost the whole way, with Drew Richmond getting some very minimal work in the first half.

Things got somewhat better late in the game when the Vols put together an 11 play 90 yard drive to salt the game away, but this contest had more drama than it should have, and not being able control the line of scrimmage against a suspect Ohio front seven was a big reason why.

The Vols have to make major strides in several areas as they prepare to face a four-game gauntlet that will determine the fate of their season, but none looms as large as the issues up front.

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