Last week, the Vols had a cupcake in Indiana State. It was an easy win, but that doesn’t mean we didn’t learn anything about Team 121. The eyeball test should tell us a lot. Here are three things that stuck out to me last week.
DORMADY IS CLEARLY THE STARTER AND THERE IS NO QUARTERBACK CONTROVERSY
When I made my predictions for the 2017 season, I said two quarterbacks will play, and one will win out. Well, that was partially wrong. There is no reason for Guarentano to see the field unless Dormady goes down, or we are doing a designed QB run. Guarentano went 4/12 for 1 touchdown against Indiana State. Sure, it was the second team offensive line and receivers, but those guys are still light years ahead of Indiana State’s starters in talent.
Dormady threw an interception and two touchdowns, but looked good and like he had command of the offense. At the beginning of the year, I thought that Dormady and Guarentano were much closer. I was wrong. Guarentano still needs time to develop and learn this offense. The eyeball test on his throws didn’t look good. They were inaccurate and often flimsy. Dormady is our quarterback, and it should stay that way. I can’t believe I ever suggested we put Guarentano in during the Georgia Tech game. Hopefully, Dormady doesn’t go down. If so, this offense could be in jeopardy.
WE HAVE A GREAT STABLE OF RUNNING BACKS
Kelly, Fils-Aime, and Chandler all looked great against Indiana State. Even freshmen Trey Coleman and Tim Jordan looked to be decent running backs. It was Indiana State, but all these guys can cause missed tackles and make plays. I was pleasantly surprised and I chalk up the success of this group to our running backs coach, Robert Gillespie. Coach Gillespie is a rising star in the coaching ranks and has been a great recruiter for the Vols since he’s been there. He’s also one of the only coaches that has been there Butch’s entire tenure.
Ty Chandler looks to be a great addition to this group winning SEC freshman of the week last week. In case you forgot, Chandler ran the first kickoff back for a touchdown. Fils-Aime looks much improved from last season. I think moving forward, we need to be sure to give the other running backs a decent amount of carries so we don’t run the wheels off of John Kelly. Looks like Run CMG hasn’t missed a beat. Move the chains!
WE ARE IN FOR A LONG YEAR ON DEFENSE
Yes, we only gave up seven against Indiana State. That should have been 0 though. I want to ask Bob Shoop why we are lining up a whole yard from the line of scrimmage as well. I could understand why we might do that against Georgia Tech (not really, but I’m not a football coach either). We recorded 0 interceptions and one sack and didn’t totally dominate Indiana State. Right now, our defense is not that good and the stats show it.
We let Indiana State run for 122 yards on us. That’s right, a Missouri Valley Conference ran for 122 yards on us. Now, we rank 126 out of 129 FBS teams in rush defense. We are 95 in total defense, 113 in opponent yards per play. We are dead last in FBS on first downs per game as well. Sure, we played a very powerful Georgia Tech offense, but the Indiana State game should have made up for that. I still think Bob Shoop is replaced by Brady Hoke at some point. Maybe sooner than later if the defense keeps playing like this. Prepare to see highlights of offenses when they play us.
WHO IS TEAM 121?
Who is this team? The offense is a high-powered run-first offense with an effective passing game and a quarterback who can get the job done, but isn’t Lamar Jackson. The defense is a talented group not playing up to their potential with no clear leader and what seems to be poor coaching. Only time will tell what this team really is, but I bet we have a fair number of shootouts this season.
I thought at the beginning of the season that we could finish 8-4. Our offense says 8-4 all day, but our defense is as shitty as Manti Teo felt when he found out that Lennay Kekua was just a cat fish scheme. Therefore, it looks closer to 6-6 to me. I know I seem pessimistic, but I’m more of a realist and call it like I see it. Florida will be a real test next week, and we’ll have a better idea of who this team is. Let’s buckle up for next week. It’s going to be a long game.
Smokey covers the Tennessee Volunteers for the SoBros Network. He loves a good backpacking trip, but hates taking a shit in the woods. Follow on Twitter: @SoBroSmokey
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