Sigh.
The Tennessee Volunteers fell to 4-6 overall and winless in the conference with a numbing 50-17 loss to the Missouri Tigers tonight in Columbia, Missouri. A more highly-touted roster kept it close in the first half, tying the game at 17 with just over a minute to play before halftime, but was utterly overwhelmed on both sides of the ball after that.
For a while, it seemed like maybe, just maybe, the Vols were going to be able to scrape together some magic. True freshman quarterback Will McBride, in his first start, surprisingly provided a bit of a missing element for the offense, scrambling several times for a much-needed first down, and he finished the game with 63 rushing yards despite multiple sacks that count against that total. And the defense seemed content to give up some rushing yards as a trade off for selling out to stop the vaunted Missouri passing attack. And it worked to keep the game tied. For a while.
But then everything fell apart again. Missouri started hitting long passes to complement their long rushing plays, and the Vols offense just shut down. John Kelly got the equivalent of a technical foul in basketball for saying something presumably unfriendly to an official. On a team with Kelly and Ty Chandler, McBride and his 63 yards led the team in rushing. He was sacked five times. He threw two interceptions. He fumbled once. Or twice. I’ve forgotten.
And he was the best player on the team.
Sigh.
The game got so out of hand that the TV commentators were obviously reaching for things to talk about to fill the fourth quarter of air time. And of course, they devoted a lot of that time to discussing Butch Jones’ job security and openly suggesting that the administration not delay due to the early signing period this year. When that got them only halfway through the fourth, they moved on to talking about the teams competing for the four spots in the College Football Playoff.
Good times for Vols fans.
Who knows when we’ll hear something definitive about the future of the coaching staff. There’s a new rumor on Twitter every five minutes or so if you enjoy being led around by your nose. I figure we’ll know when we know.
In the meantime, the team has two more games, and they need both of them for bowl eligibility and at least one of them to avoid the program’s first-ever eight-loss season. If you believe the odds, the margin will only get thinner next week after a loss to LSU, and the final game of the season against Vandy will be the last chance to avoid a historical low.
Sigh.