The first loss of the season for any college football fan always stings. It sticks around with you after the game and into your week as we return to work. It stings even more when you have such high expectations of your team. The Tennessee Volunteers came into the season with very high expectations and carried their weight through the first few games. Unfortunately, they received their first loss of the season this past Saturday night on the road against the Arkansas Razorbacks. It came down to the final play, but the Vols ended up losing the game 14-19. We understand the disappointment this may bring, especially after such a promising start.
What Went Wrong
The Volunteer offense struggled the majority of the night. The Vols punted the ball away 7 times on 11 total drives. The issues they faced were the inability to move the ball consistently and multiple penalties for false starts, causing them to play from behind the sticks. In the overall stats, Tennessee did decent running the ball, accumulating 174 yards on the night thanks to a breakout 53-yard run by Dylan Sampson at the start of the 3rd quarter. However, most of the night, they only picked up a handful of yards each time. The offensive line did a horrible job opening run lanes and protecting the QB Nico Iamaleava.
Then there is the atrocious-looking pass game. A lot of praise has been shown to freshman QB Nico Iamaleava, but he did not play well in Fayetteville. There were multiple overthrows on the deep ball when receivers were open, he scrambled at times when he still had time to sit in the pocket, and the fatal mistake on the last play to run out of bounds instead of giving a receiver in the end zone a chance to make a play. With only 6 seconds left on the clock on the Arkansas 16, he scrambled and tried to make a play with his feet.
Defensively, Tennessee did not play great either, but it was their best performer. Arkansas had 431 yards and only scored 19 points, thankfully. The defense struggled to get off the field. They would have a couple of good plays, stopping the run or causing an incompletion, and then they would give up a chunk play for the first down. This allowed Arkansas to control the ball for almost 11 more minutes than Tennessee. The Vol defense struggled severely against the pass. They gave up 297 yards through the air, mostly due to poor coverage by the linebackers. Arkansas threw over the middle a lot and picked up a lot of yards after the catch. Although they gave up a lot of yards, I will commend the secondary because there were several plays in which the Arkansas receivers made a hell of a catch in tight coverage.
Another struggle for the defense was the line. Coming into this game, we knew Tennessee had to put a lot of pressure on Arkansas QB Taylen Green. The few times they got into the backfield, Green made poor throws on the run. However, it needed to be more frequent to make a difference in the game.
Coaching was also not on point against the Razorbacks. At the beginning of the second quarter, the Vols faced a 4&10 on the Arkansas 37 and elected to punt. It was a big mistake not allowing kicker Max Gilbert to try and get points for the Vols while they were down 0-3. Another time, when the Vols were on the Arkansas 46 facing 4&3, they elected not to go for it. I can understand trusting in your defense, but those guys were on the field most of the night. If they had not converted the 4th down, the defense still would have been in a good position to stop them from scoring, especially since Arkansas was bringing in their second-string QB due to Green sustaining an injury. Secondly, not many adjustments were made to how the Vols were playing offensively or defensively. They came out hot to start the 2nd half, then shortly regressed to how they looked during the first half.
Overall, Tennessee got beat in this game. They did not get cheated by the refs or any other excuse. They simply got outplayed and outcoached for 60 minutes.
What Does the Future Look Like
I’m sure many Vol fans are scratching their heads and wondering where this leaves the Volunteers. After the loss to the Razorbacks, the Vols dropped four spots to #8 in the AP Top 25. The good news is with the new twelve-team playoff starting this year, Tennessee is not out of the race. However, they will need to do a lot of work to sustain a spot in the playoffs. They have a tough schedule ahead, with games against #5 Georgia and #7 Alabama. Considering their play against Arkansas this past weekend, the Vols may struggle against Florida, Kentucky, and Vanderbilt if they do not get to work and allow this loss to affect them mentally.
A Message to Vol Fans
This year’s team still has the potential to do great things. Do not let this loss discourage you. Yes, it was ugly, but Arkansas has a decent team this year and an electric fan base to support it. We have a great quarterback in the making, but he is still young. This was the first time we had to ask him to make a game-winning decision. He will get better with time and continue to lead an offense that we know can be explosive. #VFL
