How can the Volunteers correct their mistakes from Saturday's offensive disaster?
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – After Tennessee’s heartbreaking 20-17 loss to the No. 1 Texas Longhorns, the Volunteers have multiple shortcomings to address before their home matchup with the Alex Golesh-led Auburn Tigers.
The Tigers, who come in at 3-1 (1-1 in SEC play), are fresh off the heels of a 21-15 home win over the struggling Vanderbilt Commodores.
Tennessee fans ought not be deceived by Auburn’s performance against Vanderbilt, however, as the Tigers also came within five points of the No. 8 Florida Gators the week before.
In the 44-39 loss, Auburn quarterback Byrum Brown completed 20 of 35 passes for 271 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception.
He also rushed for 65 yards and a touchdown.
If the Volunteers want to get back in the win column and improve to 4-1, they must address these three areas of improvement.
No. 1: Protect the quarterback
On Saturday, Tennessee freshman quarterback Faizon Brandon was sacked on 10 different occasions, an embarrassing showing from an offensive line that was expected to be one of the best in the country.
While a portion of the Longhorns’ sacks can undoubtedly be blamed on the injury to star guard Wendell Moe Jr., along with Brandon’s refusal to take risks down the field, allowing one player (Colin Simmons) to sack the quarterback five times is simply inexcusable.
“It’s not just five guys,” Heupel said of the team’s struggles in pass protection. “It’s everybody involved in it. It’s tight ends. It’s backs. It’s [the] quarterback. It’s wide receivers doing their job, too.”
If the Volunteers want any chance of competing in an SEC loaded with talented defenses, keeping their young quarterback out of trouble is non-negotiable.
Across two games against SEC opponents, the Tigers have totaled six sacks.
No. 2: Run the ball early and often
It is no secret the Volunteers struggled mightily on the ground against Texas, rushing for just 70 yards on 44 attempts (including the 10 sacks).
However, they abandoned the run far too early.
Though Tennessee undoubtedly lacked a key piece of their backfield identity, with running back Javin Gordon missing a second consecutive game with a leg injury, totaling 1.59 yards per attempt is unfathomably terrible.
If the Volunteers incorporated Daune Morris (nine attempts, 33 yards) more throughout the afternoon, the law of averages states that they would have found more success on the ground.
Instead, Tennessee leaned on the pass, allowing Texas to unleash their dominant pass rush.
So, how does Tennessee beat the blitz?
Run the ball.
If Bishop, Gordon, and Morris beat the initial level of defenders, blitzes leave very little protection in the second level, opening up lanes for long run plays.
No. 3: Convert third downs
What should be a straightforward goal for the Volunteers has quickly torpedoed into a near impossibility.
In their past two games, the Volunteers are a whopping 8-of-26 on third downs, a flawless recipe for utter disaster.
Against Texas, the Volunteers went 4-of-16.
Let that sink in. On 16 tries, the Volunteers converted on just four third downs.
Part of this is undoubtedly caused by the fact that Tennessee was dominated in the early downs, paving the way for a handful of third-and-long situations.
If the Volunteers can avoid third-and-seven-plus, they will almost certainly find more success on third downs, and, in turn, raise their chances at boasting a functional offense within SEC play.
