If you’re Tennessee football offensive coordinator Alex Golesh right now, there’s plenty to worry about. As we wrote Monday, Josh Heupel was clearly still focused on the miscues that nearly cost his team at the Pittsburgh Panthers.

One issue not to worry about yet, though, is the seeming lack of run game. That was supposed to be the Vols’ advantage, but Pitt had 50 more yards on the ground and averaged a full more yard per carry.

“How they’re built, how Pitt’s built, and really, really sound, but they’re going to force you to throw the football,” Golesh said Tuesday. “So I think for what was presented, which is what we prepared for, I thought we ran the ball OK.”

As a unit, Tennessee’s football team had 35 carries for just 91 yards. Although it’s true that sacks count against rushing yards in college, Pitt was sacked two more times, so that doesn’t justify the difference.

To be fair, though, the Vols gained a lot of key short-yardage plays. Jabari Small, for instance, had 10 carries for 17 yards. Two of those were one-yard touchdown runs, and another was a third-and-one conversion.

Looking at the run game from that perspective, the Vols took a huge leap from where they were a year ago, when they struggled in such short-yardage plays. It’s even more impressive given Pitt’s emphasis on the defensive line.

“This last week, we knew exactly what kind of game it was going to be in terms of what Pitt is defensively, how they’re built,” he said. “You knew it was going to be tough sledding running the ball.”

Josh Heupel said last week the Vols were preparing for Pitt to stack the box. Anybody who has followed Pat Narduzzi’s program knows that’s his bread and butter.

Because of that, the offense did the right thing focusing on using their big receivers winning matchups on the outside, which Cedric Tillman did with 162 yards and a score. It also changed their run-game strategy specifically.

“We also knew that the quarterback run game was going to be our best run game, in terms of being able to actually hat everybody up and forcibly run the ball,” Golesh said.

Indeed, Hendon Hooker had 15 carries for 27 yards, although three of those were due to sacks. He also seemingly had the game-winning touchdown run, which was called back due to a penalty.

Simply put, Pitt’s scheme forced Hooker to use his arm and his legs. He delivered with 325 passing yards and no turnovers, which is why he was named SEC Offensive Player of the Week.

Against the Ball State Cardinals, Tennessee football ran for over 200 yards. However, as Golesh noted, Ball State dropped eight, which allowed the Vols to get about four or five yards a pop but kept them from breaking one.

The one issue with the run game that will stand out to him isn’t its lack of success. It’s the fumbling. Jaylen Wright had a fumble for the second straight week losing this one, and it’s the third fumble for a UT running back this year.

“That’s beyond disappointing and in a lot of ways unacceptable,” Golesh said. “If I lose sleep over anything, it’s that. We can’t win games putting the ball on the ground like that and got away with one there.”

In addition to Wright’s two fumbles, Justin Williams-Thomas lost one in garbage time against Ball State. That’s just part of a slew of mistakes the team made all day.

Golesh, to his credit, defended Wright and talked about how they need to coach him better not to fumble. He noted that Wright did miss most of fall camp, which could have hurt his development.

“Jaylen will continue to be a great player as he grows and he understands the importance in those situations, of putting two hands on it, securing it, squeezing the heck out of it,” he said.

Along with the fumbles, penalties killed the run game. Often times, the Vols would not get the down and distance in their favor to run the ball because penalties pushed them back.

Combine those penalties with the missed throws and drops in the first quarter, and there were few opportunities for the Vols to avoid 2nd and long. Golesh said that it could be handcuffing as a play-caller.

“You don’t want to be in second-and-long, forcing yourself to be in third-and-long,” he said. “Those guys on third and long are dangerous.” 

The penalty on Hooker’s touchdown run was a hold committed by Gerald Mincey at left tackle. However, Golesh was high on the offensive line’s run-blocking, and he’s still high on Mincey overall.

“He’s naturally gifted,” Golesh said of Mincey. “He’s super athletic. He’s really long, and I think he’s really learned better than you could ever ask a first-year guy to do so.”

Regardless of those issues, Tennessee football’s defense still came through, and Hooker still balled out for the offense. If they can clean up those miscues, they’ll be fine.