Not everybody deserves scorn for Tennessee losing to the Georgia Bulldogs on the road Saturday night. Indeed, some units were flat-out elite. However, others, were horrific, and they really came up short of the expectations we have all developed for this team. Breaking them down by position, here is our report card for the Vols in their 31-17 loss at UGA.
Quarterback: B-
Nico Iamaleava certainly missed on a throw, and he was an extremely pedestrian 20-of-33 for 167 yards on the night. However, a lot of what happened wasn’t his fault. Sure, he missed on a deep pass to Dont’e Thornton, but Thornton dropped a perfect pass for him on another play, and he didn’t have many chances on the night, so honestly, he was fine.
Running backs: A-
If not for a missed block by Peyton Lewis, this would have actually been an A+. Dylan Sampson rushing for 101 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries against this elite Georgia defense stands out, and Lewis himself had six carried for 30 yards. The Vols should have stuck with them more in the second half.
Tight ends: A
UT worked the tight ends early, clearly scouting something in the Georgia defense, and it worked. Miles Kitselman led the team in receiving with four catches for 46 yards, and he also had a touchdown run on a fullback handoff to put the Vols up 7-0. Holden Staes had a nine-yard catch for UT as well.
Wide receivers: D+
We mentioned the Thornton dropped pass. Truth be told, this part was similar to what happened in 2022, as the wide receivers failed to get any separation from the Georgia defensive backs all night. They were supposed to be a strength for the Vols at the beginning of the year, but this unit just keeps looking worse.
Offensive line: C
John Campbell Jr. had a holding penalty, Lance Heard picked up a false start, Cooper Mays gave up his first sack since 2022, and the Vols allowed three sacks as a whole. However, nobody was all-out atrocious, and the interior blocking was good enough for them to run it well in the middle, so they were still average.
Defensive line: D
What can you say about no hurries and no sacks with only two tackles for a loss? The Vols’ defensive tackles actually did their jobs, but the edge rushers were horrendous. That includes four offsides penalties from the ends. Now, they played coverage more in this game to offset Mike Bobo’s play-calling, but they were still bad.
Linebackers: F
Jeremiah Telander had just one tackle on the night. Arion Carter was quiet. There’s a reason Georgia couldn’t run it well with its running backs but worked the short field while Carson Beck also ran for some big gains. The linebackers were always out of position, even when the defensive tackles got a push, so this unit gets an F.
Secondary: B-
Jermod McCoy shockingly held back this group, as he got beat multiple times and had a bad penalty. Giving up 370 yards through the air, though, is no big deal when you consider Georgia threw it over 50 times and the Vols could get no pressure up front. Rickey Gibson III was elite, and everybody else was solid among the defensive backs.
Place kicking: A+
Max Gilbert nailed a 52-yard field goal, continuing to prove he truly is a superstar place kicker. He also didn’t miss any extra points, and as has been the case all year, Josh Turbyville never allowed a real return on kickoffs. As a result, this was the strongest grade of the night and will develop into a true weapon for UT.
Punting: A
Jackson Ross punted five times and pinned all five punts inside the 20-yard line. UT continues to turn back into Punter-U with him leading the way. Now, Ross did average just 42 yards per punt and could have pinned one punt deeper inside the 20, but he still more than did his job for the Vols.
Return game: A
It should be an A+ here. Boo Carter had an epic 26-yard return to set up the Vols for their field goal in the first quarter that put them up 10-0. However, Jalen McMurray failed to block the punter on that play, which kept them from getting a touchdown, and Peyton Lewis had a bad 13-yard kickoff return, pushing this grade to just an A.
Coaching: C-
Joey Halzle abandoned the run game and didn’t do nearly enough with the deep ball. Tim Banks should have called more stunts on the defensive line. At the same time, Josh Heupel was aggressive when necessary, and getting under center in the first quarter deserves praise. Overall, though, this was performance mediocre.
