We’ve been tracking the Vols’ statistical trends since 2011, first over at the old place and now here. Here’s our weekly update, after the Indiana State game.
Offensive observations: The offensive line seems to be doing its job so far, at least in not letting defensive lines disrupt plays behind the line of scrimmage. A Scoring Offense rank of #27 is a happy sign as well, although that likely has a lot to do with the two defenses played so far.
After that, we get into the mediocre for a while, and then the passing offense looks like it could use the most improvement. The run game could improve as well, though, which is kind of surprising.
The oddest thing is the contrast between a good job of putting points on the board despite not being particularly effective. Being good in the red zone and on third down helps.
Defensive observations: Don’t get too excited about that apparent improvement in Passing Yards Allowed, which is probably the byproduct of playing two run-first offenses.
The flip side of that coin is that you shouldn’t be too alarmed at the lack of sacks or interceptions at this point, either. Still, lots of work to be done here for the defense to wash away what happened against Georgia Tech.
Special Teams observations: First, those blocked kicks and punts stats are mostly useless and will be most of or all season long. But after that, hoo-wee, Tennessee’s special teams unit is really good and has been for several years now. Punter Trevor Daniel is an absolute weapon, and so is either or both of Evan Berry and the kickoff return team. Punt return defense could use some work.
Turnovers and Penalties observations: So far this season, Team 121 has been a disciplined team. Two turnovers against the Sycamores somewhat erased gains made in turnover margin against Georgia Tech, but so far, there’s not too much to complain about here.