Rapid Reaction: Vols Drop Tough One On Road To Ole Miss

The Vols’ road woes continued on Saturday night as they fell to 3-4 on the season after a 34-3 loss to Ole Miss.

The Rebels improved to 7-0 on the season.

Tennessee’s defense played extremely well for the first 20 minutes of the game. In fact they actually looked better than the Ole Miss defense in those first 20 minutes.

But the Rebels made adjustments on offense and exploited the Volunteers’ youth.

Offensively the Vols just couldn’t get anything going. Each time they got into Ole Miss territory, they were doomed by errant throws off the arm of Justin Worley.

The Vols are going through some major growing pains right now. They’re in the middle of a tough stretch of football that culminates with a matchup next week at home against Alabama (who absolutely destroyed Texas A&M on Saturday).

Thoughts & observations

• Tennessee’s defense is looking like one of the best defenses in the SEC. They’re playing big boy football. Guys like Derek Barnett, Cam Sutton, Jalen Reeves-Maybin and Jordan Williams are playing very, very well.
• The offensive line didn’t play well, but it could’ve been much worse. Several of the sacks that were given up were due to Worley holding onto the ball too long.
• The Vols are really limited with what they can on offense. They have wide receivers that can make plays down the field, but Worley just isn’t accurate enough to deliver the ball down the field.
• If teams can force Worley out of the pocket (which hasn’t been too hard), then there’s a good chance they will also force an errant throw. Some quarterbacks seem to throw better on the run. Justin Worley is not one of those quarterbacks.
• Tennessee still couldn’t get anything going on the the ground, BUT Jalen Hurd did have a couple of decent runs. Hurd is a playmaker that will only get better. Any yards that Hurd picks up are due almost exclusively to his talent.
• Evan Berry is entrenched as the kick returner, even with his fumble. He has the ability to give the Vols great field position. He’s definitely the guy that needs to be back there.
• Josh Malone had his best game of the season, catching five passes for 75 yards. He still, however, has a lot of room for improvement. I’ve been critical of Malone, but he’s played well as a freshman. He’s going to be a good one.
• I’ve been a bit disappointed by Marquez North this season. Certainly part of the issue is that Worley hasn’t had time to get the ball down the field, but North has failed to make some catches that he made last season.
• Marlin Lane played on Saturday but received zero carries and had one reception for five yards. It’s clear that he’s still not healthy.
• The Vols’ tight ends were a non-factor in this game. I’m not sure if Ole Miss was able to completely take them out of the game, or if the gameplan just shied away from them. Whatever the reason, that’s clearly something the Vols need to rectify.