When the Florida Gators recovered that onside kick last weekend, everybody was sure Tennessee football would blow a 38-21 fourth-quarter lead, even with less than 30 seconds left. That’s just how this series has gone.

However, the defense managed to make one last defensive stand, intercepting Anthony Richardson as time expired. Why they made that defensive stand might be the most underrated part of the team.

Defensive coordinator Tim Banks bucked all tradition in that situation. Rather than play prevent, he started blitzing Richardson, forcing him to get rid of the ball quickly. It was a brilliant scheme by Banks.

Such play-calling has been an underrated part of the Vols since Banks took over. Few have paid attention to it because of the offensive numbers.

So far this year, the defense 34th in the nation in fewest points allowed per game, giving up just 19. In spite of what you may have seen against Florida, they have come through when needed.

Against the Pittsburgh Panthers, as the offense continued to make mistake after mistake in the second half, Banks’ defense held firm most of the time. That’s why they won.

Last year, while the pass defense was outside of the top 100 in raw numbers, it was in the 70s in yards per attempt. That’s mediocre to below average but not awful.

When you factor in what Banks is dealing with, it actually looks pretty good. Josh Heupel’s system naturally is going to be more offense-heavy.

As far as targeting personnel, Heupel appears more committed to maximizing his talent on offense. That’s fine, but when you combine it with the tempo he runs, it makes things difficult for defensive coordinators.

Adding to that chaos, Banks inherited a bigger mess. Amidst all the attrition that happened from Jeremy Pruitt to Heupel, it was much worse on defense.

The Vols lost their entire linebacker corps., and last year, the one linebacker with experience, Juwan Mitchell, suffered a season-ending injury. Mitchell is back now, but he’s still regaining form.

Meanwhile, Tennessee football lost more talent defensively this offseason too. Three of their five NFL Draft picks were on defense, including the top draft pick from UT, Alontae Taylor.

As a result, Banks has been coaching defense in an offense-friendly system with a unit that was already in complete rebuild mode but then lost a ton of talent along the way. It’s been hard for him to receive his due.

Saturday should’ve shown Banks can coach. Richardson’s interception at the end was because he had to force out a quick pass tanks to the pressure Banks brought.

That moved opened the doors as to what coaches should do at the end of games. If a quarterback needs a Hail Mary to win, the pressure packages are the best way to stop them, not prevent defense.

Of course, detractors will criticize what happened throughout the course of the game. Banks rarely brought pressure, and that allowed Richardson to throw for over 450 yards.

However, anybody who saw Florida the previous three weeks knew that was the right move. Richardson hadn’t yet thrown a touchdown, and his legs are the reason for their one impressive win, against the Utah Utes.

Banks’ goal was to keep Richardson from creating a dominant Florida rushing attack that beat them, so he didn’t focus as much on pressure. It worked.

Now, a sacrifice from that was often more time to throw the ball, but Banks was taking a gamble that Richardson wouldn’t be successful throwing from the pocket.

Because Richardson was, you shake his hand and move on. However, that doesn’t mean it was a bad decision. If anything, it shows how limited the Vols are.

With Mitchell still getting healthy, Tennessee football has issues when it comes to linebackers in the intermediate passing game. Also, they have no No. 1 cornerback.

Add in the fact that Warren Burrell was hurt against Florida, and honestly, there were just too many issues. Banks did whet he could with what he had.

Unfortunately, that game will result his play-calling being even more underrated, but it shouldn’t. Banks showed how valuable he has been, and his coaching on that final series saved Tennessee football.