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Five Thoughts From Vols’ Win Over South Carolina

By Zach Ragan

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Tennessee won a thrilling game against South Carolina on Saturday night.

A game that, by all means, the Vols probably should’ve lost.

Now that we’ve had a day to marinate on the game, here are five thoughts from the Vols’ big win over the Gamecocks.

1. Space Dobbs Is Tennessee’s Now

Earlier this season, Butch Jones told the media his plan was to redshirt Josh Dobbs this season.

Jones was obviously looking toward the future with this thought process. The hope, apparently, was for Justin Worley to play well enough to lead the Vols to a bowl game, which was Tennessee’s ultimate goal this season.

Worley’s injury, however, forced Jones to give up on redshirting Dobbs. Which essentially means the future is now for Tennessee.

The offense, as a whole, is performing much better with Dobbs under center. The team is actually starting to form an offensive identity.

This is no sleight to Justin Worley, but he’s not getting his job back. Even if he was healthy. This is Dobbs’ team now. He needs to finish the season as the starter so he can go into next season as the unquestioned leader of team 119.

Tennessee has a bright future and Dobbs is a big reason why. Vol fans finally have a reason to be excited.

2. A Team Is A Reflection Of Their Coach

When Tennessee gave up a backbreaking 70 yard touchdown run on Saturday night, it would’ve been easy to assume they were done. In years past, Vol teams would’ve given up right then. There would have been no miraculous overtime win.

But that was a different team, with a different coach and a different mentality.

The current Vols don’t share that old mentality. You saw that when they got down early against Alabama. Even though the game was out of reach, they fought back and the made the final score respectable.

That didn’t happen a few years ago.

A few years ago, they would’ve lost by 35. A few years ago, they would’ve mailed it in when South Carolina went up 42-28.

But they didn’t and it’s all because of the coaching staff that’s on Rocky Top now.

Butch Jones and his staff have changed the culture. They’ve brought a workmanlike approach to Knoxville.

That approach is what’s going to have Tennessee competing for conference championships sooner rather than later.

3. Derek Barnett Is A Star In The Making

When you thought of freshman that could make an impact for the Vols this season, Derek Barnett probably wasn’t at the top of your list.

And it’s not because he wasn’t highly touted (he was a consensus four-star recruit), it was simply due to the fact that guys like Jalen Hurd and Josh Malone were garnering most of the headlines.

But Barnett has quietly put together one of the best starts to a freshman season in Tennessee history.

The Nashville native, over the first nine games of his career, has 44 total tackles, 7 sacks and 14 tackles for loss.

Those are great numbers by any standard, let alone for a freshman.

Tennessee’s defensive line went from not being able to pressure the quarterback, to being one of the best in the conference. Derek Barnett is a huge reason why.

4. A Tale Of Two Defenses

Against Florida and Ole Miss, the Vols’ defense looked all-world.

But on Saturday night in Columbia, it looked like they were back to their old ways — at least for a little bit.

The Vols have uncharacteristically given up some big plays over their past two games.

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Against South Carolina, they were almost done-in by a 70 yard Brandon Wilds touchdown run with five minutes to go in the game.

But the defense didn’t quit and they were able to preserve the win in overtime.

Perhaps the Vols’ defensive letdown the past two weeks is due to the wear and tear of a long season on a young group of players.

The bye week couldn’t come at a better time for Tennessee. It’ll be interesting to see which defense shows up against Kentucky. Will it be the one that looked like the top in the nation against Ole Miss, or will be the one that was gashed for 600 plus yards against South Carolina?

5. What Offensive Woes?

When Tennessee played Florida in early October, they could barely muster 230 yards of total offense.

Against South Carolina on Saturday night, the Vols exploded for 645 total yards of offense.

Part of that was because Florida presented a much more challenging defensive front than South Carolina.

But obviously the biggest reason for the increase in offense is Josh Dobbs.

If Tennessee can keep up this offensive production and get their defense back on track, then a seven or eight win season is entirely possible.

But the Volunteers are still a young team. Consistency is still something they’re learning to accomplish. They have the right pieces in place, they just have to continue to execute.

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