Category Archives: Football

There are plenty of statistical talking points behind what Georgia did to Auburn last night; we’ll get to that. For now, let’s talk about what Tennessee is doing unusually well:

Have the Vols ever had four fourth down conversions in a single game?

I can’t find this record in Tennessee’s media guide. What I do know about yesterday is it’s the first time the Vols had four fourth down conversions in the same game in at least the last 11 years (also known as the post-Fulmer era), which is as far back as the data goes from SportSource Analytics.

What’s more: four fourth down conversions represent more than Tennessee had in three of the last four seasons: 2-for-12 last year, 3-for-10 in 2017, 2-for-9 in 2016.

#Vols coach Jeremy Pruitt on being 4-of-4 in fourth-downs offensively today: We’re not gonna have fear here. We’re not gonna play with fear, and we’re not gonna coach with fear.

— Wes Rucker (@wesrucker247) October 3, 2020

So far into 2020 #CFB season, the @Vol_Football off is doing a great job of making Bill Walsh proud by moving chains on 1st & 2nd down. Just 15% (7) of the #Vols 47 first downs have come on 3rd down plays & just 18% of their overall plays have been 3rd down. Great sign for Vol’s.

— SportSource Analytics (@SportSourceA) October 4, 2020

That 1-of-11 performance against South Carolina will hang out in our stats for a while. But 6-of-13 against Missouri on third down got the job done, and positions Tennessee nicely as an efficient offense. Third down success is no guarantee – Kentucky leads the nation at 60% and is 0-2 – but the Vols, so far, have done a good job on first and second down, did a much better job on third down yesterday, and are indeed playing without fear on fourth down.

Making the biggest difference in the red zone

Much maligned and rightfully so, the 2019 Vols scored touchdowns on less than half of their red zone possessions, finishing 112th nationally in that stat. This year, through two weeks: nine trips, seven touchdowns, one field goal, one victory formation.

We’ve been led astray early here before: in 2017, the Vols scored five touchdowns in five red zone trips against Georgia Tech (obligatory, “That might’ve been the most insane, least meaningful game in Tennessee football history,” comment). Then the Vols went 3-of-4 against Indiana State.

Then Tennessee scored zero touchdowns in three trips at Florida, and you know how that ended. And you know how the rest of the year ended: eight red zone touchdowns in nine trips the first two weeks, 11 red zone touchdowns in 26 trips the rest of the season. So doing it against South Carolina and Missouri is no guarantee. But it’s already much, much better than what the Vols did in the red zone last year.

An opening drive touchdown!

We looked at what the Vols had done on their first drive just before the South Carolina game. The results: very bad! Only one touchdown and only one field goal on the offense’s first drive last season, while the defense gave up six touchdowns and two field goals on their opening possessions.

Tennessee’s first strike against Missouri was just the second first-drive touchdown of the Jeremy Pruitt era, joining that BYU game from last season. It also meant the Vols won their sixth straight against the SEC East’s second tier, but finally did it without giving up the game’s first points, as they had the other five times.

Scoring a touchdown on the opening drive has been an issue for a while now. Against FBS competition, the Vols did it once in 2019, never in 2018, and only against lesser competition in 2017 (Southern Miss and Vanderbilt) and 2016 (Ohio and Vanderbilt). You have to go back to 2015 to find the offense really humming out of the gate, with five first-drive touchdowns (including a kickoff return and a first-drive touchdown against Arkansas…in a game we somehow still lost). It was just one drive, but the Vols are moving in the right direction.

Good News/Bad News of the Week

Good News: Tennessee is one of only five teams yet to turn the ball over this season (of 74 now to play at least one game).

Bad News: Tennessee is one of only seven teams yet to hit a 40+ yard play. The Vols finished 73rd in this stat last year with 13 40+ yard plays, one per game on average.

Tomorrow, it becomes about Georgia. That really starts tonight; Tennessee’s performance at noon today allows us to sit back and watch the Dawgs and Auburn at 7:30 PM and see what we can learn, seven days before the first measuring stick of this kind for Jeremy Pruitt’s Vols. I’m not sure there’s a bad outcome: an Auburn victory puts the Dawgs one back in the loss column in the SEC East race, while a Georgia win gives Tennessee a chance to knock off a Top 5 team for the first time since The Rally at Death Valley 15 years ago.

But while today’s outcome is still the present, for these next few hours, we should celebrate it as a bridge between what will soon become the past, and what could soon become Tennessee’s future.

Eight wins in a row, by itself, is a significant accomplishment. The Vols have only won eight in a row, appropriately, eight times in the last 35 years:

• 1986-97 (8): After a 2-5 start on the heels of the 1985 SEC Championship, the Vols won their last four, beat Minnesota in the Liberty Bowl, and started 1987 3-0 before tying Auburn.
• 1990-91 (8): Following a November 10 heartbreaker against #1 Notre Dame, the Vols secured their second straight SEC title with a 3-0 finish, beat Virginia in the Sugar Bowl, and opened the 1991 campaign 4-0.
• 2019-20 (8): Started 2-5 with a loss to Georgia State, finished 6-0 with the Gator Bowl, now 2-0 in the new year.
• 1997 (9): Between a loss to Florida and the drubbing from Nebraska in the Orange Bowl, the Vols won nine straight and the SEC title in Peyton Manning’s senior season.
• 1988-89 (10): Started 0-6, finished 5-0 in 1988, then started 5-0 in 1989 before falling to Alabama, the only blemish in an SEC title season.
• 1995-96 (11): Lost to Florida, then won the rest in 1995, finished off with the Citrus Bowl over #4 Ohio State and a #2 finish in the coaches’ poll. Started 1996 2-0 before losing to Florida again.
• 2015-16 (11): The best of times for Butch Jones: six straight after the loss to Alabama in 2015, a breathtaking 5-0 to open 2016.
• 1998-99 (14): After the loss to Nebraska to end the 1997 season, the ’98 Vols of course went 13-0 and won it all, then beat Wyoming to open the 1999 campaign before getting Alex Browned in The Swamp.

Tennessee is 2-0, not only avoiding the kind of disaster they courted at the start of last season, but putting some additional distance between themselves and the SEC East’s traditional second tier. Six of these eight straight victories have come against that group, and while the Vols dominated Missouri statistically last season, today was far more comfortable on the scoreboard.

A 23-point win is Tennessee’s best margin against Power Five competition since beating Missouri by 26 at the end of 2016. That it comes with room for improvement is even better. Connor Bazelak went for 218 yards on 10.4 yards per attempt, a day tainted by a disastrous fourth quarter interception. Tennessee’s quarterback came out firing and finished okay, 14-of-23 (60.9%) for 190 yards at 8.3 yards per attempt, one touchdown and another clean slate in turnovers. Brent Cimaglia missed a 39-yard field goal badly.

You take any win by any margin this year, and Tennessee now has eight of them in a row. Disaster avoided and consistency solidified, Jeremy Pruitt’s Vols have moved from the lowest of lows to a clear step above the teams they’ve battled too often in the last decade. That’s a job well done.

And that’s about to be the past, as it should be.

In the future, Tennessee is now 2-0 with Arkansas and Vanderbilt left on the schedule. Take care of business there, and a 7-3 finish only requires splitting the other six. With bowls clearly back in play, even a 6-4 finish could still break the right way to get the Vols to Tampa or, who knows, maybe even Orlando, putting some proof in the very strange pudding of 2020. The progress we celebrate today is also more likely to feel like progress in January now.

That’s the future.

Tonight, tomorrow, and next week, the present levels up.

He’s yet to get in a game like this as Tennessee’s head coach, but Jeremy Pruitt knows the deal:

Jeremy Pruitt on if Tennessee can play with Georgia:

"Absolutely."

Then he added:

"That's why I came to Tennessee, to play in games like this."

— SEC Mike (@MichaelWBratton) October 3, 2020

The Vols took the long way around to games like this, but they’re here now behind eight straight wins and a mammoth offensive line. They’re here with enough talent to let a guy like Jaylin Hyatt get his feet wet instead of going headfirst into the fire. And they’re here with Jarrett Guarantano, who became Tennessee’s quarterback three very long years ago when the Vols were crushed 41-0 the last time they played in a game like this. By Georgia.

Tonight, tomorrow, and hopefully far beyond, that will be the present. Last year’s season and this year in general have taught us plenty about what you can do with assumptions, but a 2-0 start at least puts a solid, forward-progress future in play for this season.

Today, raise a glass to an eight-game winning streak and a 23-point win we can nitpick. This crew has done an exceptional job from where we were about a year ago today. They deserve our thanks and praise.

It all leads to the next, first opportunity. From the depths of Georgia State and BYU and everything else, Tennessee has won their way back to real opportunity.

Now we get to find out just how much it can be worth.

Go Vols.

In Bill Connelly’s preseason SP+ ratings, we were surprised to see the Tennessee defense come in at sixth overall, with all 130 teams accounted for. But some of the biggest pieces of that puzzle – no big plays, get to the quarterback, force turnovers – were things the Vols did well last season. The question was, how would they perform in those areas without Darrell Taylor, Daniel Bituli, and Nigel Warrior?

Your mileage may vary on what we saw from the defense at South Carolina, playing without Shawn Shamburger (which appears to be the case again this week). But in those three areas, the Vols did quite well.

No big plays

How many big plays did South Carolina have?

It feels like a handful, right? But it depends on how you define it.

Tennessee allowed 17 plays of 10+ yards (stats via SportSource Analytics). Among teams who’ve played only one game, only eight teams gave up more. That’s not great.

But only five of those 17 plays became 20+ yard gains. Two of those came on the opening drive, attacking Shamburger’s absence right away. But surrendering five 20+ yard gains currently ranks the Vols 12th in the nation. It’ll be somewhat hard to make these kinds of comparisons this season, because the 2020 Vols don’t have Chattanooga on the schedule, but last year Tennessee gave up only 39 20+ yard gains on the season, three per contest, third nationally.

The best news: last year Tennessee led the nation in gains of 30+ yards allowed, giving up just 10 such plays. How many 30+ yard gains did South Carolina get?

Just one: a 42-yard gain on their first snap of the second half, immediately after the Vols took a 21-7 lead.

Of the 72 teams to play so far this year, only four – Arkansas, Baylor, North Carolina, and Texas A&M – haven’t given up a 30+ yard play. Tennessee is tied with four others, including Alabama, Georgia, and Kentucky, in giving up just one. (That’s almost half the league.)

Is this bend but don’t break? Only if you don’t do the other things well.

Get to the quarterback

How would Tennessee pressure the opposing quarterback without Darrell Taylor? So far, so good: four sacks against the Gamecocks, a player-of-the-week showing from Deandre Johnson, and hope the Vols can continue to cause problems for the opponent the way they did last season. With 34 sacks in 2019, the Vols put up their best total in five years. Taylor had 8.5 of those, making his absence the defense’s biggest perceived issue. But it wasn’t a problem at South Carolina.

In the post-Fulmer era, the Vols are 18-4 when recording at least four sacks. And one of those four losses is the 2015 Alabama game, the closest Tennessee came to beating Bama in the last ten years. Another is last year’s BYU game, which required extreme weirdness to end in defeat. And some of the most meaningful wins since Fulmer was on the sideline show up in those 18 victories: Mississippi State and Indiana last season, 2018 Kentucky (when Darrell Taylor got four sacks by himself), the blowout of Northwestern, and back-to-back wins over South Carolina in 2013 and 2014. Get the QB four times, and you’ve got an excellent chance of winning. That’s in part because getting to the quarterback is the best way to…

Create turnovers

Henry To’o To’o’s pick six was of obvious value. The punt fumble recovery sealed the game. And just as important here was the offense keeping a clean slate, giving the Vols a +2 turnover margin.

In the post-Fulmer era, Tennessee is 25-2 with at least a +2 turnover margin. And you have to get really weird to lose at +2:

• 2017 Kentucky, when the Vols went +4 but also kicked six field goals, made only four, and lost by three in the, “Okay, Butch Jones is definitely getting fired,” game.
• 2010 LSU, when the Vols again went +4 but lost after the clock struck zero.

And here again, you’ll find some of our greatest (recent) hits on this list: 2018 Auburn, 2017 Georgia Tech, the Battle at Bristol, the 2015 Outback Bowl, 2013 South Carolina, and both of Lane Kiffin’s signature wins over Georgia and South Carolina in 2009.

The defense, at this point, seems built to not give up big plays. But it’s not bend but don’t break. It’s bend ’til they break: if Tennessee keeps getting to the quarterback, forcing multiple turnovers, and playing a clean game on their end of things? The Vols can do a lot of winning led by a defense that will look strong all season.

Tennessee opened as an 11-point favorite over Missouri this week, and depending on the source, the line is currently between 12.5 and 13. So . . . does the Statsy Preview Machine think the Vols will cover against the Tigers Saturday? Let’s take a look and then decide whether we think it’s right.

From the perspective of Tennessee

Both Tennessee and Missouri have played one game this year, so the SPM will be combining data from this year and last both for (1) scoring offense and defense (with an adjustment for returning production), and (2) comps.

Tennessee’s Scoring Offense last year: 24.2
Tennessee’s Scoring Offense this year: 31
Tennessee scoring offense to be used (combination of this season and last season): 27.6
Missouri’s Scoring Offense last year: 25.3
Missouri’s Scoring Offense this year: 19
Missouri scoring offense to be used (combination of this season and last season): 22.2

Tennessee’s Scoring Defense last year: 21.7
Tennessee’s Scoring Defense this year: 27
Tennessee scoring defense to be used (combination of this season and last season): 24.3
Missouri’s Scoring Defense last year: 19.4
Missouri’s Scoring Defense this year: 38
Missouri scoring defense to be used (combination of this season and last season): 28.7

Tennessee’s offense

The Missouri scoring defense is most similar to the following prior Tennessee opponent(s) (FBS only) and using 2019 data:

• Mississippi State 28.8
• South Carolina 26.1

Tennessee scored 20 points against Mississippi State and 41 points against South Carolina last year. Combined, that’s 111% of what those teams usually give up. So that makes the estimated points for Tennessee against Missouri 31.9.

Tennessee having only played South Carolina so far in 2020, the Vols have obviously scored 100% of what their opponents gave up. That makes the estimated points for Tennessee against Missouri 28.7.

Combining both 2019 and 2020 comps, the estimated points for Tennessee against Missouri is 30.3.

Tennessee’s defense

The Missouri scoring offense is most similar to the following prior Tennessee opponent(s) (FBS only) and using 2019 data:

• South Carolina 22.4
• UAB 23.1

Tennessee gave up 7 points to UAB and 21 points to South Carolina last year.
So, against the best comps, Tennessee allowed 61% of what those teams usually score, making the estimated points for Missouri against Tennessee 13.5.

For 2020, the Vols have allowed 100% of what its opponent have given up, making the estimated points for Missouri against Tennessee 22.2.

Combining both 2019 and 2020 comps, the estimated points for Missouri against Tennessee is 17.9.

Therefore, the estimated score from Tennessee’s perspective is Tennessee 30.3, Missouri 17.9.

From the perspective of Missouri

The Tennessee scoring defense is most similar to the following prior Missouri opponent(s) (FBS only) and using 2019 data:

• South Carolina 26.1
• Mississippi 26.5

Missouri scored 38 points against Ole Miss and 34 points against South Carolina. That’s 137% of what those teams usually give up, which puts the estimated points for Missouri against Tennessee at 33.3.

As it does from Tennessee’s perspective, the SPM for 2020 defaults to its opponent’s scoring defense because there is only one comp to look at, so the estimated points for Missouri against Tennessee for 2020 is 24.3.

Combining both the 2019 and 2020 comps, the estimated points for Missouri against Tennessee is 28.8.

The Tennessee scoring offense is most similar to the following prior Missouri opponent(s) (FBS only) and using 2019 data:

• Kentucky 27.2
• Mississippi 26.6

Missouri allowed 29 points to Kentucky and 27 points to Mississippi last year. That’s 104% of what those teams usually score, making the estimated points for Tennessee against Missouri 28.7.

For 2020, the estimated points for Tennessee against Missouri is 27.6.

Combining both the 2019 and 2020 comps, the estimated points for Tennessee against Missouri from Missouri’s perspective is 28.2.

Therefore, the estimated score from Missouri’s perspective is Missouri 28.8, Tennessee 28.2.

SPM Final Estimates

Throw all that in the pot, turn up the heat, and here’s what’s for dinner:

SPM Final estimated score: Tennessee 29.2, Missouri 23.3

SPM Final estimated spread: Tennessee -5.9

Difference between the SPM and the Vegas opening spread: 5.1

That makes this a Category 1 game for the Statsy Preview Machine, meaning it’s not overly confident about its conclusion because it is not far off from the Vegas spread.

Eyeball adjustments

I’m feeling pretty good about the results from Tennessee’s perspective, as my current belief is that Tennessee and South Carolina are fairly evenly matched. The 41 points that the Vols scored against the Gamecocks last year is probably inflated, but that inflation is mostly accounted for by combining with another comp of the same year and then combining that result with this year’s results.

I am suspicious, however, of the results from Missouri’s perspective, as playing Alabama in the first game of the 2020 season is almost certainly not an even matchup, meaning the 2020 comps are probably lower than they should be. Removing the 2020 comps from Missouri’s perspective gives more points to Missouri than it does to Tennessee. (It would be Tigers 33.3, Vols 28.7.) Remember, the Vols may have dominated Missouri on the field last year, but they did not dominate them on the scoreboard, winning only 24-20. However, one would think that this year’s Missouri team is not yet up to speed with a new coaching staff and system and plenty of new players. All of that leads me to the conclusion that although I am suspicious of the 2020 comps from Missouri’s perspective, I’m leaning toward believing the results.

So this week, I am making no eyeball-adjustments and sticking with the SPM to predict a score of Tennessee 29, Missouri 23. Neither I nor the Statsy Preview Machine like the Vols to cover in this one. I’m bracing for a somewhat disappointingly- close contest, but also hoping I am wrong.

Other predictions from other systems

Vegas: As I said before, the Vols opened as 11-point favorites and are currently 12.5- to 13-point favorites. With an over/under of 48.5-49.5, that translates to something like Tennessee 30, Missouri 19.

Bill Connelly’s SP+ likes Tennessee better at 27-17 (Vols -10), and gives the Vols a 71% chance of winning, but like us, still does not like the Vols to cover.

Bottom line

The GRT Statsy Preview Machine and my own eyeballs like the Vols to win but not cover this week, although neither of us is beating our chest about it.

• Vegas: Tennessee, -11 (~Tennessee 30, Missouri 19)
• SP+: Tennessee 27, Missouri 17 (doesn’t cover)
• SPM: Tennessee 29, Missouri 23 (doesn’t cover)
• Me: Tennessee 29, Missouri 23 (doesn’t cover)

Season results on Tennessee games

• Week 1: The SPM was right (albeit overconfident) against South Carolina.

What do y’all think?

The GRT Statsy Preview Machine inched out of the garage after a service call last week and basically just took a cruise around the block getting a feel for its new wheels. It went 14-13 (51.85%) overall last week, and hit only .500 in both Category 2 (7-7) and Category 3 (3-3). For the season, it is now 31-30 (50.82%) in Category 1, 18-12 (60%) in Category 2, and 8-6 (57.14%) in Category 3. Incidentally, if you compare its projections to the same spreads that SP+ uses, it went 17-10 (62.96%) overall last week, about the same as SP+ itself. I trust Bill on the spreads he’s using; I just don’t know the source. I use Oddsshark’s “Opening” spreads. Whether that’s a casino, sportsbook, Oddsshark itself, or just whoever is first, I don’t know. If anyone can enlighten, I’d love to hear it.

But for now, here are the GRT Statsy Preview Machine’s picks for Week 5 of the 2020 college football season. As always, if you’re wondering why we do this or what I mean when I refer to “confidence” and when I place game predictions into different categories, check out this post.

GRT SPM 2020 Week 5 Picks

The Unknowable is losing a bit of chaotic power but is still a threat to rear its head and wreak havoc. With that caveat, here’s what we have for this week:

There are only four Category 3 games that the SPM likes particularly well this week.

What are you favorite games this week?

The Tennessee Volunteers kick off Gameday this week at noon on the SEC Network, and there are six (six!) games involving eight (eight!) future opponents (plus one former opponent) that will probably impact the Vols’ 2020 season.

First up is this week’s college football TV schedule curated just for Vols fans. A full and searchable college football TV schedule for this week is below the curated version.

Friday, October 2, 2020

If you owe your family or someone else some time, you’re good both Thursday night (no games) and Friday night. If you’re looking to kill some time with football, though, this one will do the job.

Gameday, October 3, 2020

The Vols kick the day off in the noon slot on the SEC Network when they host the Missouri Tigers. But set your DVRs for the South Carolina-Florida game, too, as we’ll get some more information about how frightened we should be of the Gators.

In the afternoon slot, we get looks at three future Vols’ opponents. Alabama and Texas A&M square off on CBS. Assuming the Vols beat Missouri at noon, root for the Tide here, as it increases the chances that the Tennessee-Georgia game the following week gets the prime CBS 3:30 slot. Kentucky also plays in the afternoon slot, so keep your eye on both games.

The feature game in the evening slot is Georgia-Auburn on ESPN at 7:30. Root for Georgia here, as the Bulldogs also need to win for the Vols to be playing at 3:30 on CBS instead of noon next Saturday. Future Vols opponents Arkansas and Vanderbilt are also in action, so watch live what’s most interesting and DVR the rest unless you’d prefer to just channel hop among all three all night long.

Full searchable college football TV schedule

Here’s the entire 2020 college football TV schedule for this week:

Below is a look at Tennessee’s national stat rankings side-by-side with the counterpart rankings for the Missouri Tigers. Again (we’re saying this a lot), be wary of the numbers, especially Missouri’s, as they’ve only played Alabama so far.

Details below.

When the Vols have the ball

Link to table

Where’s the opportunity?

It would appear that the Vols should have an opportunity in the passing game, although Missouri’s bad numbers so far against the pass should probably be attributed to having played Alabama. Still, they were better against Alabama’s rushing attack than they were against the Tide’s passing attack, so maybe there’s something to it.

Where’s the danger?

Tennessee did not do well against South Carolina on first downs, and Missouri did quite well defending first down against Alabama. Same story in the run game. If Missouri makes Tennessee one-dimensional by shutting down its running attack, that could spell trouble for the Vols.

Gameplan for the Vols on offense

Pass to open up the run.

Vols on defense

Link to table

Where’s the opportunity?

Against South Carolina, Tennessee did well defending the run, on first down, and getting into the Gamecocks’ backfield to disrupt plays. Against Alabama, Missouri struggled against all of that.

Where’s the danger?

The Vols did not do well defending the pass against South Carolina, and that appears to be Missouri’s strength.

Gameplan for the Vols on defense

The Vols appear to have a distinct advantage on defense, although, once again, Missouri is probably better than its numbers suggest right now due to only having played Alabama at this point. Still, if Tennessee shores up its pass defense, they should be in relatively good shape.

Special teams

Link to table

Small sample sizes here, so any conclusions are suspect.

Turnovers and penalties

Link to table

Again, it’s hard to draw too many firm conclusions here, but one game in, the Vols have protected the ball better than Missouri has. On the other hand, Missouri has been the more disciplined team from a penalty perspective.

Without Jauan Jennings and Marquez Callaway, we prepared ourselves for two outcomes: the instant emergence of mythical freshman wide receivers, or more opportunities for Eric Gray and Ty Chandler in the passing game. It’s hard to use the word “exciting” when those new opportunities come at the expense of no longer having #15 and #1 out there, but both options felt full of possibility.

Instead, 16 of Jarrett Guarantano’s 19 completions at South Carolina went to veteran wide receivers.

It worked, so no complaints here, just an early observation.

Josh Palmer is one-for-one as the alpha: six catches, 85 yards, and the go-ahead score in the fourth quarter. That’s a great sign. I thought Velus Jones played a role similar to the way the Vols used Von Pearson a few years ago, finishing with five catches and 29 yards, unable to fully break free but with plenty of opportunity ahead, it seems. Brandon Johnson had the best catch of the night, finishing with three for 73. And Ramel Keyton was targeted more often than his two catches for 20 yards.

It’s early, and it’s weird with the virus. But none of the freshmen got involved in the passing game in week one, and Tennessee’s failures on third down didn’t allow enough distance between the Vols and Gamecocks to get them some snaps with Tennessee holding a comfortable lead.

Meanwhile, what we saw from the running backs in the passing game was…basically what we saw from the running backs in the passing game last year. Eric Gray got 31 yards on the ol’ flea flicker check down. Ty Chandler had one catch for 10 yards. And that’s it.

Last year Jennings, Callaway, and Palmer were a formidable trio: 123 catches between them, 61.5% of Tennessee’s total on the year by themselves. Dominick Wood-Anderson added 21 catches at tight end. And the backs? Gray and Chandler each finished with 13, or one per game…which is what they got Saturday. Tim Jordan had six catches in a dozen appearances.

The difference between Pruitt’s Vols and what we saw in Butch Jones’ five years can still feel a bit jarring in this department, considering the running back was an essential part of the passing game from 2013-17:

Season	RB	Catches	Team Rank
2017	John Kelly	37	T-1st
2016	Alvin Kamara	40	T-2nd
2015	Alvin Kamara	34	2nd
2014	Jalen Hurd	35	3rd
2013	Rajion Neal	27	3rd

Tennessee’s secondary pass-catching RBs got the same kind of work in Jones’ offense that Gray and Chandler saw last year and last week: Marlin Lane had 11 catches in 2014, Jalen Hurd 22 in 2015 and 10 in his shortened 2016 campaign, Ty Chandler 10 in 2017.

Again, the Vols won and I thought Guarantano had one of his best starts. But I’ll be curious to see if the freshmen can get involved at receiver, and if Tennessee looks to Gray and Chandler more often. So far, it continues to be the preference of both the staff and the quarterback to throw the ball to receivers downfield far more often than not, even without Jennings and Callaway out there. If that continues to work, all this will go from curiosity to real strength. And it’s also nice to feel like the Vols have real options in the passing game we haven’t even seen yet.