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Tennessee Survives Appalachian State: What We Learned About Vols

By Caleb Calhoun

Sep 1, 2016; Knoxville, TN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers wide receiver Josh Malone (3) is congratulated by teammates after scoring a touchdown against the Appalachian State Mountaineers during the second half at Neyland Stadium. Tennessee won in overtime 20 to 13. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 1, 2016; Knoxville, TN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers wide receiver Josh Malone (3) is congratulated by teammates after scoring a touchdown against the Appalachian State Mountaineers during the second half at Neyland Stadium. Tennessee won in overtime 20 to 13. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports /
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Tennessee football survived a scare with a 20-13 overtime victory over the Appalachian State Mountaineers. Here are three takeaways from the Volunteers win.

It’s not exactly the opener you wanted. The Tennessee Vols needed a lucky overtime break to pull away from the Appalachian State Mountaineers in their opener Thursday nigh.

Down 13-3 at halftime, the Vols’ offense was stagnant all game. It took a big play from Joshua Dobbs to Josh Malone, tough defense in clutch situations, and a ton of luck for them to pull this game out.

But hey, a win is a win.

Still, there are numerous issues surrounding the Vols that we now know exist. Here are three things we learned from Tennessee’s overtime victory.

1. Joshua Dobbs is hesitant to look downfield.

This is a bit of a tricky one. Dobbs is a solid quarterback overall, but he always goes for the short, obvious, sure route.

As a result, Appalachian State was able to target him all night with a dominant pass rush and his refusal to take shots downfield. The one time Dobbs did that from the pocket, he threw for a touchdown.

Outside of that, he rarely took any chances. That’s a problem for the Vols long-term. Dobbs needs to be able to take those risks for big plays. Otherwise, Tennessee is in trouble.

2. Tennessee is thinner than expected at linebacker.

The biggest concerns facing the Vols at linebacker were on the inside, with Colton Jumper backing up Darrin Kirkland Jr.

However, the outside was just as big of a problem Thursday night. The Vols struggled all game after Jalen Reeves-Maybin was ejected for targeting. Cortez McDowell failed all night in plugging holes, allowing Marcus Cox and Taylor Lamb to run wild.

Sure, the defense only allowed 13 points, but Bob Shoop’s unit struggled all night to get off the field due to that. At this rate, the Vols need to pray there are no more injuries there. Otherwise, they’re in trouble.

3. Vols’ offensive line can’t handle a 3-4 defense

We saw this last year when Tennessee played Alabama. Their offensive line simply struggles against a 3-4.

Appalachian State had a Top 25 rush defense last year in this 3-4 scheme and returned six of their front seven starters. They gave the Vols’ offensive line hell all night.

And the one new starter wasn’t even the problem.

Drew Richmond layed decent at left tackle. It was Coleman Thomas who struggled to do anything competent. He will have to improve if the Vols are going to do anything this year.

However, a win is a win, and everybody in Knoxville is relieved with a 20-13 lucky Thursday night opening victory.

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