We learned a lot about the Tennessee Vols following their seventh straight loss to Florida on Saturday, but mostly we learned that the Volunteers are still Gator bait.
The youthful Vols fell to the Gators 33-23 for a number of reasons, beginning with their inability to run the football.
Tennessee managed minus nine yards rushing against a Florida team that entered the game ranked 6th in total defense in the Football Bowl Subdivision.
But Tennessee hasn’t been able to run the ball effectively in any of their three games this season.
The Vols’ offensive line has proven to be solid in pass protection, but being one-dimensional against SEC teams isn’t going to win games.
The key to any good football team begins with the strength of the offensive line. As of now, Tennessee’s line is timid.
Coach Derek Dooley must somehow transform this bunch into the five meanest, most fanatic people on the roster and he damn well better do it quickly.
Some of the play calling was questionable as well.
Offensive coordinator Jim Cheney has got to recognize that Tennessee can’t get tough yards by running the ball into the teeth of a defense, and he tried that unsuccessfully a number of times.
Cheney doesn’t employ screens or play action nearly enough, and neither does he attempt to move quarterback Tyler Bray in the pocket using bootlegs or roll outs.
Speaking of Bray, his interception on the Vols’ first drive of the second half took away the momentum Tennessee had gotten following their touchdown towards the end of the first half.
Bray must understand that he has to protect the football at all times, especially playing on the road against a quality opponent.
Tennessee doesn’t have enough talent to overcome costly mistakes, and that poor decision he made all but doomed the Vols for the rest of the game.
Watching the Vols on Saturday was a stark reminder that Tennessee still lacks enough talent and depth to compete against the better teams in the SEC.
It didn’t help that the Volunteers played tentatively against the Gators either. Put another way, Tennessee played like they were scared of Florida.
If you’re going to have a chance against a top 25 opponent on the road, you’ve got to play with reckless abandon. Moreover, you’ve got to play fundamentally sound football, and the Vols’ failed miserably in that regard.
Poor tackling has plagued Tennessee in every game this season. You might be able to get away with that against teams like Montana and Cincinnati, but as we saw on Saturday you won’t get away with it against elite SEC competition.
Additionally, kicker Mike Palardy failed to connect on a makable field goal following their first drive of the game that would have given the Vols some needed confidence.
He was also too slow in getting off a punt that was blocked leading to a Florida field goal in the second quarter, although it should be noted that the protection was lacking as well.
After Justin Hunter went down with an injury early in the first quarter, Da’Rick Rogers failed to step up. He dropped a number of catchable passes, including one that he “alligator armed.”
Rogers is a talented player, but if he’s afraid to catch the ball over the middle then he can’t play in the SEC. It’s that simple. If Hunter’s injury proves to be serious, Rogers will have to step up and be the man among the Vols’ receivers.
Losing is never good, particularly when you play poorly like Tennessee did on Saturday. But at minimum we learned where the Vols remain deficient, and there are plenty of deficiencies to correct.
Perhaps this young Volunteers’ team will learn from this experience, at least you hope they do because it’s games like this that teaches a team what they have to do to become competitive in college football’s toughest conference.
Some might argue that Tennessee needs time to develop their young players, but this is the SEC. In an unforgiving conference that has produced five straight BCS national champions, the Vols don’t have time to grow up.
Florida had as many young players on the field as Tennessee did and they performed. In other words, the Volunteers don’t have any excuses.
