Has it arrived? I don’t think Josh Heupel will ever say it has, but Tennessee’s offensive unit has made strides in recent weeks – especially out of the gates in the first half.
The Vols scored 14 points and led for a small stretch in The Swamp. The squad followed by scoring 28 points in the opening quarters of both the Missouri and South Carolina games that resulted in big wins in Southeastern Conference play.
And the first half success is what has carried the Vols and allowed for second half depth to begin playing out.
By halftime of Saturday’s win over the Gamecocks, Tennessee had scored 13 touchdowns on its last 18 possessions. The sequence came with three field goals and only two drives that ended with no points (punt, TOD).
Prior to the second half Saturday, Tennessee had scored 100 points on 1,056 yards and 121 plays in its most recent six quarters.
“Great preparation. Great focus. A great understanding of what you are going to see from the other side of the football,” Josh Heupel said postgame when asked what’s going into the hot starts. “If you see something different, being able to adjust. That’s what we had to do a week ago. And then there’s executing.”
Quarterback Hendon Hooker has been instrumental in the first half success as well, completing nearly 71 percent of his passes for 696 yards with 10 touchdowns and no interceptions in the opening two quarters of the past four games, per Brent Hubbs.
“Hendon is continuing to grow with us offensively to have complete command with what we are doing,” Heupel said. “You can see that we trust the ball in his hands in certain situations. He continues to grow and takes great care of the football. He has great command and the players have responded to him in a real positive way.”
Tiyon Evans has managed first half touchdown runs of 92 and 45 yards the past two weeks while hauling in a 47-yard screen past against Florida in the first quarter. JaVonta Payton has found the end zone in the first half of each of the last four games with touchdown receptions of 29, 75, 35 and 39 yards.
In all, Tennessee has scored 159 of the team’s 249 points this season in the first half of ballgames. That’s 63.8%.
“Just coming out of the locker room from the jump with great energy. We did a great job this week preparing and really just dialing in on the little things,” the Hooker said postgame. “Having an upbeat tempo is our goal every play and we try to go as fast as we can literally every play. When we do accomplish that, great things are accomplished on the back end.”
Missouri and South Carolina aren’t impressing anyone on defense when it’s all said and done. But with the Volunteer offense finding this type of production of late, what could it mean against Ole Miss next week? Could it sustain against the likes of Georgia or Alabama later in the year?
We’ll have to see, but the Rebels gave up 51 points in a close-call over Arkansas on Saturday, for what it’s worth.
Every game is different and each have defining moments that either make it or break it for teams. But if Tennessee continues it’s hot starts out of the locker room, it’ll give itself a chance to hang on longer in games where the opponent is favored – or even heavily favored. It gives you a chance.
One thing is for certain. With points lighting up the scoreboard, it’s different times here in Knoxville.
“I hope the [fans] enjoy the check out of it,” Heupel said of the offensive play. “Offensively, we’re probably a little bit different than what’s happened [in recent years]. But defensively, too, we have the ability to be multiple and aggressive.
“Our kids are competing hard. I think that’s the first step to making this fan base and this state extremely proud of who we are on the football field.”
