Generally speaking, a team’s national stat rankings don’t improve after playing the No. 1 team in the nation, so you don’t pull these up hoping to see some evidence of improvement. But let’s take a peek anyway.
Offense
Climbed out of the Bottom 30: Nothing.
Climbed into the Top 30: Nothing.
Fell into the Bottom 30: Passing Offense, but note that it joins seven other offensive categories already there.
Fell out of the Top 30: Passing Yards per Completion.
I like fall colors and all, but I’d rather not see it on my stat tables.
Defense
Climbed out of the Bottom 30: Nothing.
Climbed into the Top 30: Nothing.
Fell into the Bottom 30: Nothing.
Fell out of the Top 30: Nothing.
No movement in and out of general locations here this week, which is good news after playing a team with Alabama’s offensive firepower. Honestly, the Tennessee defense pretty much held its own.
Special Teams
Last week, I pointed out that there had been no red in this entire category since the BYU game. This week, there are three categories in the red: Kickoff Returns, Net Punting, and Punt Return Defense.
Turnovers and Penalties
Tennessee binged on penalties this week like they were coming off a 6-game fast, although they were force-fed some of that by servers in stripes.