Although the Mississippi State Bulldogs are an awful team, Tennessee Football suffered a major setback with a key injury in its 33-14 win Saturday night. As a result, the Vols could actually be graded on a curve either way with how they performed. Here is our report card for Rocky Top and every unit coming off what could be considered an ugly win.
Quarterbacks: A
Nico Iamaleava was 8-of-13 for 174 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions in the first half before being pulled due to injury. Gaston Moore was only 5-of-8 for 38 yards, but the game was largely taken out of his hands, so the unit still did more than enough to warrant an A for this game.
Running backs: B+
Dylan Sampson’s fumble and Peyton Lewis getting stopped on a 4th and short kept Tennessee Football backs from getting an A. However, Sampson still had 149 rushing yards and a touchdown, and that’s enough to warrant this a significantly above average grade for the day.
Wide receivers: A
Dont’e Thornton had three catches for 104 yards and a touchdown, and Squirrel White had three catches for 63 yards and a score, which came on a fourth down play. The unit was obviously held back because of the quarterback injury, but before that, it did enough to warrant an A.
Tight ends: A
With Iamaleava out, Josh Heupel and Joey Halzle went conservative and needed Gaston Moore to complete easy passes to the tight ends. Miles Kitselman had an eight-yard catch, and Ethan Davis had one for 11 yards. Add in the blocking, and the unit honestly gets an A.
Offensive line: B+
Again, that 4th and short stop works against them here. Still, the Vols’ offensive line paved the way for 240 rushing yards, and they did so despite Javontez Spraggins going down for a period of time in the game. As a result, they still deserve this above average rating.
Defensive line: B-
Giving up 179 yards on the ground is going to work against the Tennessee Football defensive line. They didn’t play with their hair on fire all night. However, they did have four sacks from four different players, most notably a strip-sack from Jayson Jenkins, so they did enough for this to be above average.
Linebackers: B
Again, the rush defense is going to hold this unit back, as that falls on the linebackers as well. What is helping them is how good Arion Carter was at dropping back in coverage at times and the fact that Jeremiah Telander had a key fumble recovery from the Jenkins strip-sack in this game.
Defensive backs: A+
Boo Carter continued to prove himself to be a rising star with an interception, and Jermod McCoy and Rickey Gibson III shut down the receivers they were guarding. As a result, the secondary was the strongest parr for the Vols in this game, and it’s not even close.
Place kicking: A+
After a horrendous week against the Kentucky Wildcats, Max Gilbert returned to form against Mississippi State. He nailed four field goals on four attempts, most notably a 51-yarder, and didn’t miss an extra point. Josh Turbyville was elite on kickoffs as well.
Punting: A-
Jackson Ross had three punts all go for more than 45 yards, pinning one inside the 15-yard line. He had two that could have gone for more to pin MSU back, though, which is why this isn’t an A+, but he still more than did his job for Tennessee Football.
Return game: A
Eventually, the Vols are going to run one back with Boo Carter, as he averaged nearly nine and a half yards a punt return despite fielding some difficult kicks in this game. UT had two kickoff returns as well and averaged 28.5 yards a return, so this warrants an A.
Coaching: A-
Offensive play-calling was somewhat questionable early, but the Tennessee Football coaches handled the injury to Nico Iamaleava perfectly, and defensive play-calling was fine. As a result, Josh Heupel and his staff get an A-grade overall, even if they had to sneak into that.
