Jeremy Pruitt wasn’t doing his best Lewis Grizzard impersonation, but he might as well have been.

“You know, it’s hard to figure out how you lose that game. But then you start thinking about it.”

You know, brother, I don’t believe I’da said that.

After Saturday’s dumbfounding double-overtime loss to BYU, Tennessee fans are tired of the reoccurring nightmares. Groundhog Day is just called Saturday in Knoxville.

For more than 59 minutes, the Vols mostly outplayed the Cougars. Sure it wasn’t particularly pretty, what with all the issues on third down (5 of 16) and a quarterback really struggling.

But that didn’t matter.

They were better on both lines of scrimmage and had more total yards.

Didn’t matter.

Did Tennessee have a pass rush? Finally find some running room? Play with real effort?

Check. Check. Check.

It mattered not.

One unbelievable error trumped it all. One ill-fated mistake with 19 seconds remaining just further changed the outlook of Pruitt's second season on Rocky Top, and possibly, the tenor of his future.

The Vols are 0-2 with three Top 10 teams on the schedule over the next month. You can see where this is headed.

That's what matters now.

Each week, I’ll rewatch the tape so you don’t have to. Here’s a skinny dozen of notes, analysis and final thoughts…

1. Rapid report card grades!

QB: D

RB: B+

WR: B+

TE: B-

OL: C+

DL: B-

LB: C+

DB: C

ST: A

2. Five guys who I thought played well

A. RBs Ty Chandler and Eric Gray

B. WR Jauan Jennings

C. OLB Darrell Taylor

D. DE Latrell Bumphus

E. PK Brent Cimaglia

A couple guys who just missed the cut here include safety Theo Jackson, who swarmed to the football and was active all night with nine tackles, a TFL and a pass breakup, Brandon Kennedy, who wasn’t great but on re-watch looked like the team’s most consistent offensive lineman outside a bad holding penalty. Josh Palmer also had a couple big catches and good YAC.

As for who did make the list, Chandler and Gray left some yards on the field late, but Tennessee’s tailback duo gave the Vols a chance by carving up BYU with off-tackle runs. For whatever reason, the Cougars were content to play 3-down lineman and have their linebackers sucked inside, so Jim Chaney just kept calling a variation of outside zones with two tight ends on the field.

Chandler wasn’t great in pass protection again, but it was a big overall performance for the junior who is being seriously pushed by a promising freshman. Jennings talked the talk and walked the walk, while Taylor responded from a poor Week 1 with a good effort (a lot of snaps, several hurries, a sack and a couple run-stops). Bumphus still needs to be more consistent but he flashed the very pass rushing prowess Tracy Rocker bragged about this summer. It was a career-game for the former tight end (two sacks, albeit an assist goes to Greg Emerson for blowing up the screen for one of the sacks). Finally, Cimaglia has become automatic, drilling every kick with confidence including a 51-yarder.

3. Five guys who’d like Saturday back

A. QB Jarrett Guarantano

B. DBs Alontae Taylor and Warren Burrell

C. DL Aubrey Solomon

D. OL Ryan Johnson

E. TE Dominick Wood-Anderson

Some young guys who didn’t play enough could qualify here (not sure on snaps but Darnell Wright struggled, as did Kurott Garland). I didn’t think Nigel Warrior, who was also out of position on BYU’s long pass play late and whiffed on the tackle, was very effective either.

We’ll get to Guarantano in a bit, but Taylor’s mistake was unbelievable. Pruitt tore into the sophomore pretty good both on the sidelines and even postgame, without actually mentioning his name. And yet, the staff bears some of the blame here in my opinion. They have the pedigree. They’re considered secondary savants. So why did Taylor think he was in a Cover-2? Why were Pruitt and Derrick Ansley ok with their second-year corner lining up 5-yards off the LOS when they were in a deep Cover-3 zone?

Why not use your last timeout to make sure EVERYONE is on the same page? Taylor make the mistake, but Pruitt frustratingly deflecting blame ain’t it. He’s the guy making $4 million. It’s his responsibility to make sure his guys are prepared — especially at his position of specialty.

Meanwhile, it continues to be a trial-by-fire for freshman corner Warren Burrell, who seems to be lack some confidence right now. He had a PI and allowed at least five receptions, by my count. Ryan Johnson played a lot but he certainly wasn’t very effective, while DWA wasn’t physical enough on the edge at times where some run plays could’ve been sprung for home runs. On rewatch, Austin Pope was much more effective sealing the edge, including springing Chandler’s 51-yard run.

4. I touched on Guarantano in the Good, Bad & Ugly piece late last night but Tennessee’s veteran quarterback had a second-straight poor performance to start the season. The regression is staggering.

BYU played a lot of zone Saturday, dropping eight with regularity. The only success Guarantano really had was against a couple Cover-3 looks where he found Jennings wide open. His best throw of the day was the deep-out to Josh Palmer, but otherwise, Tennessee’s quarterback was pushing the ball into traffic, late with his reads or not anticipating any coverages or routes.

Guarantano was a risk-averse quarterback in 2018 who now regularly throws the ball into traffic. He’s not seeing the field well, with the miss to Jennings at the end of the first half a really poor read, as were three throws short of the sticks on third down.

Jim Chaney basically stopped calling throws inside the numbers midway through the third quarter and effectively took the ball out of Guarantano’s hands, calling nine runs on 11 plays on UT’s field goal drive that put it up 16-10. Even on that drive though, Guarantano nearly made another colossal mistake in the red zone.

On 3rd-and-goal, the Vols called a bunch play, and while BYU had it well-defended, Guarantano still tried to force a pass to Jennings into double-coverage. He as late again, and if the ball was a bit more inside, it might’ve been a pick-six.

Three times on the coach’s show, Pruitt said, “We were very lucky that ball was not intercepted.“

Reminder, Guarantano had four interceptions all last season.

The other two near turnovers were the tipped pass in the end zone that went for a lucky touchdown to Jennings and in the second overtime when Guarantano again tried to force the ball to Wood-Anderson with serious traffic in the middle of the field. Both times BYU’s safety got his hand on the football. Notice how many of these instances are in the red area?

5. Red zone blues.

Tennessee has been very inefficient in the red zone thus far this season, scoring just four touchdowns on eight trips. Here’s a look at what happened on each possession inside the 20-yard-line vs. BYU.

Result: 5-yard touchdown pass, Guarantano to Jennings (first quarter)

Key play: Again, Guarantano’s best pass of the night was when he was flushed outside the pocket and delivered a sideline strike to Palmer, who kept a foot in bounds to setup 4th-and-3. I loved Pruitt’s aggressiveness on the next play, and he was luckily rewarded despite Guarantano throwing into triple coverage.

Result: Loss of downs (second quarter)

Key play: After a sack on 1st-and-10, Tennessee got most of the yardage back on a easy completion on 3rd-and-long. The Vols opted to go for it on 4th-and-1 and Gray got busted backwards. While Tennessee did a decent job moving BYU’s 3-man front much of the game, the offensive line got mauled here, with Jahmir Johnson, Trey Smith and Andrew Craig getting beat. I didn’t like the formation either, a tight heavy package with Palmer going in motion.

Result: Cimaglia 22-yard field goal (third quarter)

Key play: Tennessee gets inside the BYU 9-yard line with a head dose of Gray and Chandler runs. But on 2nd-and-goal, Guarantano opts to keep the football on a zone-read. It’s hard to truly tell but this looks like a misread. Who do you want carrying the ball here: Gray or JG? The next play is when he tried to force it into Jennings late.

Result: 13-yard touchdown pass, Guarantano to Jennings (overtime)

Key play: After Austin Pope had a drop on an out route, Guarantano came back and fired missile into the teeth of BYU’s defense on third down, and Jennings was able to out-muscle the defender for the score.

Now, at first glance here, this might not look too bad. Two touchdowns and a field goal. But twice the Vols were fortunate to even get points. These red zone looks don’t even account for another couple drives UT had inside BYU’s 25-yard line.

6. “When it’s fourth-and-a foot, you have to be able to get it.”

Pruitt is exactly right, but a better play call might help. Chaney was mostly fine Saturday, but this was a head-scratcher.

Tennessee’s head coach preaches aggressiveness, so I had no issue with the Vols opting not to kick a field goal on 4th-and-1 from the 30-yard line with 4:30 remaining. Get the first down and you eat up at least another minute on the clock and force BYU to start burning its timeouts.

But running Palmer on a quick motion? Is that really the best option?

The play was doomed from immediately, as the timing was totally off. Watch Pope and Gray — they nearly collide and can’t block anyone or carry out the fake — because the offensive line gets beat inside at the snap. Doesn’t matter if it’s Tyson Helton or Jim Chaney, short-yardage remains a real problem for this offense.

7. The Vols shortened their OL rotation by one Saturday, eliminating Jerome Carvin from the group. Darnell Wright didn’t play much either (my guess is less than 20 snaps). The main group Saturday was Jahmir Johnson, Trey Smith, Brandon Kennedy, Ryan Johnson and Marcus Tatum. Outside of a few Wanya Morris reps at left guard, Smith played close to every snap.

8. For a defensive staff that preaches takeaways, the Vols rank last in the SEC with one turnover forced. One — against Georgia State and BYU. That’s not a ballhawking defense. Their best chances Saturday was the errant snap that hit a BYU wideout going in motion and Quavaris Crouch’s pass breakup on the field drive in regulation.

9. A couple quick-hitters via rewind…

* Tennessee’s defensive gameplan was very sound. The Vols sent a lot of pressure early, including multiple six-man blitzes in BYU’s opening two drives. Now, I have no idea why it took the Cougars nearly 2.5 quarters to dial up Georgia State’s gameplan (just with more RPOs), but Tennessee had quarterback Zach Wilson rattled with its stunts and disguised looks. The Vols also did a better job for the most part — until the critical breakdown late — staying in their rush lanes.

* Midway through the second quarter, Tennessee faced a 3rd-and-4 at the 35-yard line. The Vols lined up in empty with Chandler flexed out wide to the left. Chandler ran a quick stutter-and-go for a home run shot but Kennedy was beat and flagged for holding.

* On BYU’s third quarter rushing touchdown after Guarantano’s interception, Crouch was late reacting to the play and took a poor angle inside, getting caught in traffic and allowing a free release to the edge.

* Tendency alert!!! I actually picked up this live but had it confirmed in the review — Tennessee is very likely to run the ball if Ramel Keyton and/or Cedric Tillman are in the game. On nine snaps Saturday, I counted eight runs.

10. I opened with a Pruitt quote, so I’ll leave you with a soundbite that sounds all too familiar: