UTEP 0 Tennessee 24
Tennessee defeated UTEP 24-0 on Saturday, improving to 2-1 on the season. A first down pass from Jarrett Guarantano to Dominck Wood-Anderson on the first play of the game made it appear as if the Vols would roll to a dominant victory. This was not an accurate assumption. The Vols got off to a very slow start and never really got going all afternoon. It was a very underwhelming performance by Tennessee, but they will take the win into the Florida game next week.
The teams opened the game by trading punts. On the Vols' second possession of the game, they had a 1st-and-goal from the 7-yard line, but penalties resulted in 4th-and-goal from the 21-yard line. Brent Cimaglia connected on a 38-yard field goal to get Tennessee on the board. Later, UTEP was forced to punt from their own end zone and Marquez Callaway's 13-yard return gave Tennessee possession at the UTEP 36-yard line. On the first play of the drive, Jarrett Guarantano found Brandon Johnson for a 29-yard completion. It took Tim Jordan just 2 carries to gain the remaining 7 yards and score the Vols first touchdown of the day. After taking a 10-0 lead, the Miners went 3-and-out, but Callaway muffed the punt and UTEP regained possession. Tennessee's defense would force another punt just 3 plays later. The Vols led 10-0 at halftime.
UTEP went 3-and-out on the opening possession of the second half. It was evident that Pruitt's halftime speech resonated with the team, as Ty Chandler ran for an 81-yard rushing touchdown down the sidelines on the Vols' first play of the second half. There were a combined for 5 punts on the next 5 possessions, before Tennessee found the checkerboards again. This 11-play, 71-yard scoring drive began with Ty Chandler's 16-yard run and was capped off with a 4-yard touchdown pass to Guarantano. Vol fans were elated to see Jennings haul in his first touchdown since the 2016 season. Late in the game, Madre London ran for a gain of 28 yards.
Jarrett Guarantano was very efficient, completing 12-16 passes for 168 yards and 1 touchdown. Madre London's 9 carries resulted in 74 yards, while Tim Jordan totaled 49 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries. Jeremy Banks contributed 45 yards on 9 rushes. Josh Palmer hauled in 2 passes for 64 yards and Brandon Johnson made 4 receptions for 51 yards. Additionally, Jauan Jennings totaled 22 yards and a touchdown on 3 catches and tight end Dominick Wood-Anderson finished with 2 receptions for 21 yards. As a team, the Vols gained 512 yards of total offense, including a whopping 345 rushing yards, while picking up 24 first downs in the process. Still, their offensive efficiency was very monotonous
5 Takeaways
1. Tennessee played down to competition: The Vols came out with no sense of urgency and the offense never really got going. Noon games always contribute to this, and the team may have had their sights set on Florida, but whatever the case may be, there is never a good excuse to perform as the Vols did today. This game reminded me of the North Texas game in 2015, the Appalachian State and Ohio games in 2016 and the UMass and Southern Miss games last season. Tennessee has struggled to avoid the urge to play down to their competition in non-conference games over recent years, but in order to return to national prominence, one of the first steps is leaning to take care of business in these types of games.
2. Ty Chandler makes huge impact in his return: Chandler returned from injury to record 12 carries for 158 yards and a touchdown against the Miners. His 81-yard touchdown run to start the third quarter was the highlight of his day. This run was the longest by a Vol since LaMarcus Coker's 87-yard rushing touchdown in 2006, against Vanderbilt. The lethal 4-headed monster made up of Chandler, Tim Jordan, Jeremy Banks and Madre London in the backfield is very encouraging as Tennessee enters SEC play. Chandler has shown that, while he may not be the most physical of the 4, he may have the best burst of speed. His game should continue to develop throughout SEC play this season.
3. Tennessee was sloppy: The Vols were less than impressive in many areas against UTEP. They turned the ball over for the first 2 times of the season and committed 8 penalties for 65 yards. Hopefully, it was the noon kickoff that made the Vols play uncharacteristically, but corrections will still need to be made as Florida comes to town next week.
4. The Vols' defense is strong: I have been thoroughly impressed with Tennessee's defense during the first 3 games of the season. I am not surprised at the efficiency, as Jeremy Pruitt is a very defensive-minded coach. Still, they will need to place added pressure on quarterbacks as they enter SEC play. Much respect needs to be given to Tennessee's defense, since they have allowed just 3 points in the last 2 games. Also, they gave up just 134 total yards against UTEP. This is the fewest amount given up by the Vols since they allowed 89 to Western Kentucky on September 5, 2009. In addition, Tennessee's 24-0 shutout of the Miners marks the first shutout by the Vols since the 2016 season.
5. Tennessee's daunting stretch of SEC games has arrived: Florida comes to Knoxville next Saturday night, the first of 5 consecutive tough SEC matchups. The Vols will not be the favorites in these games, but I can sense that they will pull off at least 1 upset. This does not count next week, as I feel that Tennessee should be favored to beat the Gators inside of Neyland Stadium. It's officially Florida week! Go Vols!
