The Day After

Tennessee head coach Jeremy Pruitt got his first-career head coaching win with a 59-3 victory over ETSU. We review the win with The Day After.

HOT

The red zone: Tennessee went 6-6 in the red zone Saturday with five touchdowns. For the Vols to be successful this season they have to turn red zone opportunities into points.

Emit Gooden: The junior college defensive tackle had a huge afternoon with 8 tackles, including a sack and 3 tackles for loss. Gooden pushed the line of scrimmage all evening and he had more tackles then the rest of the defensive line combined.

Jeremy Banks: The freshman running back had a nice home debut rushing for 62 yards and 2 touchdowns. Banks show his power and was decisive in in short yardage runs.

NOT

The first quarter run game: In Week 1, Tennessee -17 yards on 9 rushing attempts. Saturday against, ETSU, the Vols ran for -1 yards on 8 carries. Against the Buccaneers, Tennessee finished with 190 yards rushing, but the start of games have been ugly for the offensive front in the ground game.

Jonathan Kongbo: After recording just one tackle in the season opener against West Virginia, Kongbo did not record a tackle in Saturday's win over ETSU.

Osborne blocked punt: Leading 3-0 and struggling to move the ball offensively on the ground, Tennessee forced ETSU into its first mistake when Marquill Osborne blocked Marion Watson's punt and scooped it up for an 8-yard touchdown run giving the Vols a 10-0 lead.

51-yard completion to Marquez Callaway: Tennessee has been looking for explosive plays. The Vol drive was extended when ETSU was flagged for pass interference. Following that penalty, Tyson Helton went up top and Marquez Callaway hauled in the 51 yard pass setting up Jeremy Banks first touchdown making it 17-0.

Bryce Thompson interception: Following a near hour weather delay, Tennessee's defense came out of the tunnel hunting the football. On the Bucs first possession, Bryce Thompson snared a Logan Marchi pass that went through the hands of Quan Harrison. Thompson returned it to the 3 and Banks scored on the next snap.

Darin Kirkland interception: Facing 3rd and 5 at their own 30, Marchi's pass was batted in the air by Kyle Phillips. Senior linebacker Darin Kirkland hauled in the tipped bal and took it 33 yards into the endzone making the score 33-0.

28 — Number of points Tennessee scored of ETSU turnovers. Tennessee must be opportunistic if they are going to get to a bowl game.

3 — Number of pass plays of 50 yards or more in Saturday's win. The Vol offense had 4 all of last season.

-18 — Number of rushing yards Tennessee has gained in the first quarter of two games this season.

0 — Number of turnovers Tennessee has this season. With a small margin for error, Tennessee must not have self inflicted wounds.

Bryce Thompson: The freshman, who had a very good week of practice, was rewarded for his work by getting his first-career start. Thompson set an early tone defensively with a pass break up and finished the first half with four tackles, two for loss, two pass break ups and the interception. Thompson was clearly more confident and clearly more aggressive in his second college game.

The biggest concern for the Vols has to be on the offensive front. Tennessee planned multiple combinations in the first half. They played 10 offensive linemen on Saturday overall and they struggled at the start of the game and never got a consistent push. ETSU had a sack and seven total tackles for loss. In two games, defenses have 19 tackles for loss and 2 sacks against UT.

If Tennessee is going to be a bowl team, they have to be better in the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball particularly on offense. Tennessee's coaches have one more week to figure out who their best five are and what combination is most effective on the offensive front.