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Tennessee vs. Bowling Green: Five Things We Learned About the Vols

By Caleb Calhoun

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The Tennessee Volunteers beat the Bowling Green Falcons in a 59-30 shootout in Nashville. Here are five things we learned about the Tennessee football team.

It was a lot tougher than we would have liked, but the Tennessee Vols held off the Bowling Green Falcons in a shootout in Nashville 59-30

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Head Coach Dino Babers did a tremendous coaching job for the Falcons to keep them in this game, and quarterback Matt Johnson willed the Falcons to stay in the game with 425 yards passing and two touchdowns.

The game was extended by a lightning delay in the third quarter when the Vols were up 42-27.

Here are the five things we learned about Tennessee from this game.

1. The secondary is a big issue.

This was the obvious one.

We heard all offseason that Emmanuel Moseley had willed his way into a starting cornerback position because of how well he played. Well, it did not show on Saturday. He was awful and got burned consistently.

Malik Foreman was no better. And with Todd Kelly and LaDarrell McNeil out, Evan Berry had to fill in at safety and was just as awful.

Berry at least made up for it on special teams, but these three players had a terrible day and clearly have a lot to learn. Butch Jones wanted to leave the out on islands to give them a chance to prove themselves, and they failed miserably.

To be fair, Brian Randolph was okay, it’s still early, the unit can improve, and things will be better when Justin Martin and Kelly get healthy. Also, hopefully McNeil will be able to come back. But this unit was still bad today, with one major exception. And that brings us to No. 2.

2. Cam Sutton is a superstar.

While the secondary for the most part was atrocious, Cam Sutton does not belong in that conversation. Sutton shut down his side of the field the entire game. He was used at Nickel a lot and never gave anything up.

He also made crucial plays, including sniffing out a third down screen in the first half to make a clutch tackle when the Vols desperately needed a stop.

But it is not just his skills at cornerback that make him a superstar.

Sutton once again proved himself to be an elite punt returner. He fielded three punts for 102 yards as well, giving the Vols great field position multiple times.

Simply put, Sutton is every bit as good as advertised.

3. Joshua Dobbs can still struggle with accuracy.

His numbers were not that bad, but we saw flashes of freshman year Dobbs in this game. He had quite a few overthrows, and even some of his completions were not that great.

On one drive, Dobbs overthrew Josh Malone on a pass that Malone should have caught but had to reach for, and he also missed Marquez North wide open on a play. Accuracy and missing a read are not great signs for a junior quarterback.

To be fair, at the same time, he made some nice throws and recognized Ethan Wolf twice for touchdowns, and he also showed his mobility, rushing for 89 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries.

Passing, Dobbs was 15 of 22 for 205 yards and two touchdowns. So his numbers were fine and he knew to put the game away, but he still needs to get more accurate.

4. Jalen Hurd and Alvin Kamara are the real deal.

With Dobbs, Hurd, and Kamara, the Vols were close to having three 100-yard rushers. But Hurd and Kamara are clearly everything they were hyped up to be, albeit against a very weak Bowling Green Falcons defense.

Hurd was a stud, rushing for three touchdowns in the first half and finishing the game with 123 yards on 23 carries. And then Kamara racked up 144 yards on 15 carries for more than nine and a half yards per carry.

So what is clear is that the running game is going to be the strength for the Vols this year. Now we get to see what they do against an elite front seven.

5. The defensive line is very good.

Bowling Green had more than 400 yards passing, but their rushing attack was very mediocre with less than 150 yards total. It did not help them that Travis Greene went down early in the first half.

And it also did not help that Tennessee’s defensive line was as good as advertised.

The Vols had a few mistakes on the line, but they showed they have a ton of raw talent. They continued to get pressure up the middle on Bowling Green and should have had a touchdown after one sack that should have resulted in a fumble.

But overall, credit to the defensive line for being the one solid part of the Tennessee defense throughout the day. They should be able to wreak havoc on Oklahoma’s offense next week.

Next: Vols Hold off Bowling Green in Season Opener

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