Everybody will want to blame officials, and with some validity, and coaching isn’t exempt either. However, Tennessee players didn’t exactly have the best showing Saturday night in Athens, Ga., at Sanford Stadium as they fell to the Georgia Bulldogs 31-17. Here is a look at who is at fault for the Vols suffering a brutal loss that could derail their College Football Playoff hopes.
Edge rushers – 45 percent
A lot of people will point to the entire defensive line, but the defensive tackles drew the necessary attention to free up the edge rushers. The edge rushers then failed to capitalize. Not only did they come away with 0 sacks, but James Pearce Jr., Joshua Josephs and other ends combined to step offside four times, keeping drives alive at least three times. They came up way short in this game.
Linebackers – 30 percent
Georgia wasn’t able to run the ball, and that actually largely falls on the defensive tackles. The linebackers, however, were out of position way too often and allowed Carson Beck to run for quite a few big gains. That ended up proving costly and is a huge reason this team wasn’t able to flip the momentum after the first quarter.
Offensive tackles – 10 percent
Yes, they have been getting better, but Lance Heard killed a key drive late with a bad false start penalty, and John Campbell Jr. had a holding penalty. The Vols also gave up three sacks, and two of them are on the tackles, so while they have improved, they haven’t gotten anywhere near the level they need to be at.
Nico Iamaleava – 5 percent
You could pin a lot of this on Joey Halzle and his play-calling, but Nico Iamaleava has to hit when the deep shot is there, and on the only one they took all night, Dont’e Thornton was wide open. Iamaleava just overthrew him. That’s enough for him to warrant a spot on our blame pie even if he’s not responsible for his pedestrian performance.
Dont’e Thornton – 5 percent
UT’s big-play threat dropped a wide open pass in the first half that killed a drive for them. Thornton has to make that catch, and that alone puts him on this list. Little plays like that are crucial and make a huge difference between winning and losing when you’re on the road against an elite team like the Dawgs.
Jermod McCoy – 5 percent
After being a lockdown cornerback all year, Jermod McCoy easily had his worst game for the Vols. He allowed Georgia to convert a 38-yard pass at the end of the first quarter that sparked their momentum because the fact that it was a free play dejected him, and then he later had a bad pass interference penalty. McCoy is still elite, but he struggled in this one.
