In a 45-26 season-opening blowout win, Tennessee football made a strong case against Syracuse that the Vols can be a dangerous team.

You could argue that the quarterback was better than expected, the running backs were better than expected and the offensive line (without a starter who was scratched late) was better than expected.

On defense, the pass rush was better than expected, and the secondary was better than expected, without All-American cornerback Jermod McCoy.

Does that change your outlook on the Vols’ season?

For me, not yet. But based on several observations, here are five things to ponder:

Will Joey Aguilar have better numbers this year than Nico Iamaleava?

Aguilar is off to a good start. He was 16 of 28 for 247 yards – the most by a quarterback in his first UT start under Josh Heupel – and three touchdowns. He hit a long ball. He hit passes over the middle. He was poised in the pocket. He ran for 34 yards and didn’t take a sack.

Iamaleava, in his UCLA debut against Utah, had a decent start, but the Bruins got only a field goal in the second half of a 43-10 spanking. Iamaleava was 11 of 22 for 136 yards and one touchdown with one pick and missed a wide open receiver on a deep ball (sound familiar?). He ran for 47 yards on 13 carries to lead the team in rushing. UCLA’s running backs got 37 yards on 15 carries. Iamaleava doesn’t have the supporting cast – especially at running back – that Aguilar has. And Iamaleava was clearly outplayed by Utah’s quarterback, Devon Dampier (21 of 25 passing, 206 yards, two TDs, 87 rush yards and a score).

Despite just a one game sample, Aguilar will pass for more yards and touchdowns this season than Iamaleava, who last year averaged just 201.2 pass yards per game and had just 19 touchdown passes in 2024.

Will the secondary continue to shine without Jermod McCoy?

At times, Syracuse found holes in the secondary, but that’s bound to happen when you blitz as often as Tennessee football did. The Vols had five sacks (UT averaged 2.2 sacks per game last year) by five different players. They had 10 passes broken up (UT averaged 3.8 last year, and McCoy had a team-high nine).

Cornerback Colton Hood, the Colorado transfer who replaced McCoy as a starter, had three PBUs and a fumble recovery for a touchdown in a smashing debut.

Jalen McMurray tipped a pass that was intercepted, had a sack and recorded seven tackles, tied for second on the team.

Edrees Farooq did a solid job in his first career UT start.

But starting corner Rickey Gibson III will be out an “extended period” with an arm injury, further depleting the secondary.

All signs point to a solid defensive backfield – if it can stary and get healthy.

Will the offensive line be better than it was in 2024?

Entering the season, I thought that highly unlikely. The Vols lost four starters, including standout center Cooper Mays. Then five-star right tackle David Sanders Jr. didn’t play in the opener due to an undisclosed injury.

So right guard Jesse Perry moved to right tackle, left guard Wendell Moe moved to right guard, Shamurad Umarov started at left guard, and Notre Dame transfer Sam Pendleton started at center.

The result: 246 rushing yards and no sacks allowed.

This was a much better performance than anyone could have anticipated, especially with four first-year starters all playing a different position than anticipated.

The fact that Tennessee football can move offensive linemen around and still be efficient is a promising sign. But keep in mind, Syracuse’s run defense isn’t very good.

Will Star Thomas lead the team in rushing?

Thomas led Coffeyville (Kansas) Community College in rushing. He led New Mexico State in rushing. He led Duke in rushing. And he led the Vols in rushing against Syracuse, despite being the third-team back, with 92 yards on a team-high 12 carries while also scoring on a 7-yard reception and showed power and elusiveness.

It’ll be hard for a third stringer to lead Tennessee football in rushing, but if he continues to produce, he might move ahead of Peyton Lewis on the depth chart and get enough touches to outpace DeSean Bishop.

Don’t be surprised if Bishop and Thomas each total around 800 rushing and receiving yards.

Will Tennessee and its opponents continue to fake injuries?

Shame on you, Syracuse coach Fran Brown.

Shame on you, Tennessee coach Josh Heupel.

Watching the plethora of fake injuries during nearly four-hour marathon was embarrassing.

The NCAA has tried to limit fake injuries by saying if the ball is in play and a player goes down, it costs that team a timeout. If no timeout, then delay of the game.

But Brown and Heupel had players fake injuries before the ball was put in play, thus avoiding a timeout or penalty.

And most any UT fan knows by now that a Vol offensive lineman will fake an injury on the extra point attempt if the offense scores too quickly, thus giving the defense an extra two or three minutes of rest.

Here’s a solution with more teeth: If it’s obvious that a player goes down (this is easy to detect in some instances) or a Vol goes down after an extra point, that player is suspended for the next game and the head coach is suspended for the next game.

That should stop some of this nonsense.