It’s not optimal. but it can be done. If necessary, Tennessee football showed enough aside from its highly publicized passing attack to make one believe that the Vols can beat a quality opponent with a combination of other factors.

A strong lineup of running backs and a dominant defense led the Vols to a 56-24 victory over UAB on Saturday. Newfound star quarterback Joey Aguilar was still very much a part of Tennessee’s attack, completing 15 of 22 passes for 218 yards and three touchdowns in Neyland Stadium. However, the Vols certainly seemed to turn the ball over to a more conservative route following an interception by Aguilar, who has just started four games for the Vols, in the first half that seemed to change their coaching philosophy.

After another fast start by Aguilar and the Tennessee football passing attack, the Vols were content to win with a stout, yet explosive, running attack and a defense that was more than up for the challenge against the Blazers, who struggled to keep up athletically throughout the contest. UAB’s most successful play came late in the third quarter when the Blazers completed a 61-yard touchdown pass on a play set up with a trick formation. Other than that, it was mostly all Vols, especially when Tennessee was on defense.

Tennessee outgained UAB 173-4 on the ground in the first half while UT’s defense limited the Blazers to just seven first half points and 151 total yards before halftime. It was clear that UT’s coaches were intent to not let UAB get any more of a foothold than the Blazers briefly had when Aguilar tried to force a pass in the first quarter that was picked off by UAB. The Vols may be tested further against a future opponent, but clearly that was not the case on Saturday as the Vols moved to 4-0 on the young season.

To be clear, Tennessee did not go into a shell after Aguilar’s third interception of the season. The Vols still attacked, just not as aggressively as beforehand. Aguilar, who completed his first 14 passes last week against Georgia, completed 15-of-22 passes for 218 yards and three touchdowns on Saturday against UAB. Meanwhile, the Vols benefitted from their running game against UAB.

The Vols averaged 5.5 yards per rush. Peyton Lewis was UT’s leading rusher with 81 yards on 11 carries. Fellow tailbacks DeSean Bishop and Star Thomas each ran for 59 and 51 yards, respectively, on nines carries apiece. While there is no reason to think Tennessee football head coach Josh Heupel will become conservative in his play-calling moving forward, it was intriguing to see what the Vols could do when the passing game could have been considered problematic. 

Aguilar was still effective after his interception, but the Vols clearly were intent on providing answers to pending questions against future opponents, most notably, those opponents with more talent. Tennessee’s defense certainly answered the bell. The Vols held the Blazers to just four yards rushing in the first half as Tennessee shutdown UAB. 

Tennessee faced another turnover in the third quarter when punt returner Boo Carter lost a muffed punt to the Blazers. Fortunately for the Vols, their defense was still intact and easily held onto a 42-10 lead. Carter’s body language drew criticism from ESPN color commentator Matt Stinchcomb for the sophomore’s lack of effort on the play. Again, the Vols’ defense had its ball-carrying counterparts’ back. Carter need not worry.

While UT’s defense would have been considered a steady force on Saturday against UAB, the Vols also turned in a couple of tide-turning play. The first occurred when defensive back Andre Turrentine picked off a pass thrown by UAB quarterback Jalen Kitna in the third quarter.  Carter then redeemed himself by forcing a fumble late in third quarter that resulted in a return by Kaleb Beasley for a touchdown.

It’s certainly worth noting that UT has now won 24 consecutive games when rushing for over 200 yards. The Vols are certainly known as a pass-happy offense. However, that may be a bit misleading given that long trend of success when UT runs the ball effectively. 

Tennessee will certainly face an upgrade in competition this week when the Vols have to travel to Mississippi State to take on the Bulldogs. They will try to avoid the similar mistakes that undermined them at times against UAB. If they can’t do that, at least Tennessee’s football team will have some answers in Starkville, Miss.