Throughout the college football offseason, the greatest hype surrounded Tennessee’s offense. Conversely, the greatest worry surrounded the Vols’ defense.

Each feeling was held for good reason.

Coming into this season, Hendon Hooker and Cedric Tillman led an offense whose deep-threat ability and indelible speed vaulted the Vols to the top of the nation’s stat sheets in 2021.

Meanwhile, Tennessee’s 2022 defense was expected to miss graduated players such as Alontae Taylor, Theo Jackson and Matt Butler. Moreover, even with those players factored in last season, the 2021 squad ranked just 62nd in the country in total defense.

In short: UT’s offense was expected to set the tone this season. The defense would simply have to catch up and not allow as many points as this electric offense can score on any given day.

That may still ring true for other games this season.

But Saturday’s second installment of the Johnny Majors Classic was not one of them.

Because here came Georgia Tech transfer Wesley Walker, barreling into Pitt starter Kedon Slovis to force a turnover on downs and the first sack of Tennessee’s season at Acrisure Stadium.

And here came Tyler Baron, rolling Slovis in a WWE-style strip-sack that put the quarterback out of the game and gave the Vols the football.

And here came Trevon Flowers, snagging an interception early and blitzing off the edge late – the latter ending in a sack and a 12-yard loss that all but iced a 34-27 overtime win for No. 24 Tennessee (2-0).

The Vols’ defense proved incredibly vital, helping UT overcome an atypically sputtering offense, two fumbles and a blocked punt en route to a sterling road victory over No. 17 Pitt (1-1).

“Defensive effort just in general, absolutely relentless,” said Vols head coach Josh Heupel. “That second, third and fourth quarter, that’s as good a performance as I’ve been around. They got put in a lot of bad positions. From turnovers to short fields with special teams, they reset, they played. Even if we didn’t sack them, we were hitting them.”

That constant pressure helped relieve the aforementioned mistakes, as Tennessee had several chances to put the game away if not for its litany of issues.

In the first and fourth quarters, UT just couldn’t move the ball. The former was an especially sharp contrast to last year and last week, as the Vols trailed after the first 15 minutes.

“Offensively, early, we didn’t do anything to get a drive started,” Heupel said. “We were completely out of rhythm.”

The struggles matriculated into the second half, as Tennessee proved unable to clinch the win in regulation.

“We have to be better on the offensive side of the football to play all three phases together in the second half,” said Heupel.

Throw in UT’s unforced errors, and the Vols grew even choppier.

“It says that there’s a lot of learning that needs to go on,” Heupel said. “The fumbles can’t happen, the blocked punt can’t happen. That’s us as coaches and players continuing to get better, and we’ve got to make those strides quickly.”

One example of that quickness came in Flowers himself, as the senior endured a personal redemption arc through four quarters of football.

Following his early interception, Flowers was posterized via a SportsCenter-worthy hurdle from Pitt tight end Gavin Bartholomew en route to a 57-yard Panther score.

Then, Flowers — the current deep man on punt returns — proceeded to muff a punt, causing one of Tennessee’s two fumbles with just 2:23 left in the game.

The Panthers, in turn, moved quickly to tie the score and force a frenzied game to overtime.

Flowers wasn’t done, though. He bounced back in the extra period and, on a vital third down, shot like a missile into Pitt backup quarterback Nick Patti to set up the game-ending incompletion.

“He has grown so much,” Heupel said of Flowers. “And you can see that in the way he physically looks, how he approaches every day, and that shows up in the way he plays.

“You could see it in his eyes (after the fumble) when he reset, and it showed in the way he finished the football game.”

Tennessee also saw a positive finish from its most expected sources: Hooker and Tillman. The pair hooked up for the game-winner on the first possession of overtime, with Hooker finding his target on a 28-yard pass that ended with Tillman pounding his chest in the end zone.

“Big time players make big time plays in big time games,” summarized Tillman, who also hauled in a 61-yard pass to set up the second of Jabari Small’s two touchdowns.

Tillman did have a couple of drops, with one Hooker pass hitting him in the face mask and another popping into his chest and out of his hands.

Ultimately, though, No. 4 came through in the same way fans came to expect in his breakout 2021 season.

He finished the night having accumulated nine catches for 162 yards — his first six catches for a mind-boggling 111 yards, too — and the final score.

“We’re going to keep finding out more and more about (Cedric),” said Heupel. “We believe in him. He’s a big-time player with maturity. Hendon believes in him, and our players and our staff do too.”

Former USC transfer Chase McGrath aided the Vols with two essential field goals, one on a 51-yarder before the half to notch the longest completion of his Tennessee career.

Still, it was another former Trojan who drew a familiar yet expected “Bruuuuu!” ovation in Pittsburgh.

Bru McCoy rumbled for a crucial first down and hauled in the first touchdown of his career in the Orange and White, showcasing his build and physicality throughout.

“I thought Bru did an unbelievable job playing strong and physical with yards after the catch,” said Heupel.

The pair shared a hug in the locker room, as a photo from Tennessee showcased Heupel grinning toward his newest receiver.

But the Vols’ coach was also surrounded by other players – old and new – who believe in the direction of this team.

And, in the end, that may be the greatest takeaway from Saturday night.

Not the slow start that prevented UT from a 17-0 lead. Not the miscues that kept it from putting this game on ice a lot earlier than reality showed. Not even the plays that won the game, as the Vols cobbled together just enough success to sneak out of Pittsburgh with an ugly — albeit deservingly celebrated — victory.

Make no mistake, the issues Tennessee showed on Saturday will come back to bite the Vols in a hurry if they aren’t cleaned up before SEC play.

But the resiliency to ride that tumultuous wave, eyes still focused toward finishing what was improved this weekend — yet what was started when Heupel stepped to the podium after his hiring one year and seven months ago?

That’s not a small deal, either.

“There’s a certain level of maturity that we didn’t have last year,” Heupel summarized. “That our kids are willing to compete, and they’ve handled the ups and downs and flow of the game the right way, where they continue to compete and play the next play.

“We’re far from a finished product. We’ve got a long way to go to get where we’re capable of being. But the growth, the maturity, the competitiveness ... Man, it’s so different than when we first took over. This shows some of the things we’ve been talking about, and it shows their growth."

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