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The Day After

Tennessee falls to 0-7 in SEC play with 30-10 loss to LSU. We review the 8th consecutive SEC loss with The Day After.

HOT AND NOT

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HOT

First half defense – After getting gashed at Missouri, Bob Shoops unit was terrific in the first 30 minutes Saturday night. The Vol defense held LSU to just 141 yards of offense. They limited the Tigers to just 2 third down conversations. They gave up 3 points without giving up a first down. Their first touchdowns was a 19 yard drive. The Vols first half defensively was their best in conference play.

Jon Gruden –Gruden has dominanted the thoughts of Tennessee fans all week. He was the focus point on Saturday when Calhoun's restaurant confirmed via Twitter that Gruden had a pre-game meal in their restaurant with Peyton Manning. Problem was that Gruden wasn't in Knoxville. Grudent was in Seattle for Monday Night Football. As week two of John Currie's coaches search gets going, Gruden will once again dominate the conversation.

NOT

Punt return – LSU punted the ball 5 times. Tennessee didn't try to field three of them giving up 40 yards of field position. On the two they tried to field, Marquez Callaway fumbled both that the Tigers converted into 10 points.

The second half – Tennessee was outscored 13-0 and were outgained on the ground 109 to 9 yards. Tennessee lost the field position battle which changed the complextion of the second half.

The roster – At full strength LSU is still a better team, but Tennessee's roster is depleted. The Vols played without a scholarship back up at quarterback or along the offensive front. Bottom line is Tennessee doesn't have enough weapons or depth in the line of scrimmage to over come their injuries against a good team.

DEFINING MOMENTS

Callaway's second muffed punt – The firest muffed punt was bad,b ut the defense did a good job holding LSU to just a field goal. Callaway's second muffed punt cost the Vols 7 points and had the Vols playing catch-up midway through the second quarter.

The kick no one saw– With momentum on their side following a late first half score to make it 17-10, Tennessee had a chance to tie it up on the oppening possession of the second half. With a monsoon falling and half the stadium lights out, Tennessee couldn't find the football to catch. The ball bounced and slid to the Tennessee 3 where Tennessee fell on it. Backed up, Tennessee's offense went three and out and LSU took over.

Failed 4th and 1 in the third quarter – Any hope the Vols had of rallying in the game went away when the offense couldn't convert 4th and 1 form their own 21 yard line. LSU needed just 2 plays to cover the 21 yards for a touchdown to make the score 30-10. After the game, Interim Heac Coach Brady Hoke said that's the call he would like to have back.

The '97 Vols – It was great to get to visit with those guys on Friday night and great to see them honored in the first half on Saturday. The collection of talent was outstanding and their presence remined Tennessee fans just how good they once

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

10 – Number of scholarship offensive linemen who have missed games due to injury. Trey Smith is the only offensive lineman who has played in ever game this year. The result of the units M.A.S.H. Unit means an offensive line that has little to no continity.

7 – Number of plays of 15+ plays by the Tennessee offense on Saturday. That's the biggest number for Larry Scott's unit this season.

6 to 2 – That's the first down run to pass ratio in the second half. In the first half Tennessee had 7 runs and 6 passes. Of Tennessee's 181 first half yards, 91 of them came on first down runs. Tennessee must be less predictable.

1,850 – Number of yards rushing given up in SEC play this season. That's an average of 264 yards a game.

GAMEBALLS

Again when you lose a game 30-10, gameballs don't mean much. But I'm going to give mine to Jarrett Guarantano. Guarantano was only sacked twice as he threw for 239 yards and a touchdown.

The redshirt freshman took a bunch of hits, but he showed nice touch in the screen game and had it not been for a couple of drops, Guarantano would have thrown for over 300 yards.

No one can say that Guarantano is for sure the answer at the quarterback spot, but the redshirt freshman is getting better and continues to show his toughness.

WHAT TO WATCH MORE/MOVING FORWARD

From a football standpoint, the question is can the Vols get an SEC win or will they go winless in conference play and finish with 8 losses for the first time in school history.

Outside of this current team, the big questions are going to surround this coaching search. Who's Currie talking to? Where is he? And there will be continued questions concerning Jon Gruden. There will be plenty of rumors and speculation all week long as neither Gruden nor Tennessee seem to have any desire to stop them.

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