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Tennessee vs. Oklahoma Report Card: Grading the Vols

By Caleb Calhoun

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Sep 12, 2015; Knoxville, TN, USA; Oklahoma Sooners wide receiver Sterling Shepard (3) dives over Tennessee Volunteers defensive back Brian Randolph (37) to score the winning touchdown during double overtime at Neyland Stadium. Oklahoma won 31-24. Mandatory Credit: Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports

Defensive Grades

Defensive Line: B+

There are two things that kept this from being an A. Curt Maggitt’s injury along with Danny O’Brien’s absence obviously were noticeable here, and that hurt the pass rush in the second half. It led to a few missed tackles that gave receivers time to get open, particularly on the final couple of drives.

But outside of that, the unit played great. Derek Barnett got pressure all night, Samaje Perine was held to under 80 yards rushing, and the Vols kept getting a great push up front. So they all deserve credit for what they did.

It is just that the unit could have been better, but it’s not the players’ faults that they weren’t. They did everything they could.

Linebackers: C+/B-

How do you average an A with a D? Because that is exactly what you got with linebacker play tonight. Jalen Reeves-Maybin was the player of the game for the Vols with 21 tackles, 13 of which were solo, a forced fumble, three tackles for a loss, and a sack.

But on the other hand, Colton Jumper was atrocious and truly looked like a walk-on, giving up too many plays in coverage. The injury to Curt Maggitt, who obviously see time at linebacker, neutralized everything.

As a result, this unit gets a C+/B-, somewhere between there, because one linebacker played great all night, and the other played terribly.

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    • Defensive Backs: B-

    The secondary was clearly better than last week with Todd Kelly Jr. stepping back in at strong safety, and they were going up against a very complicated air raid offense while holding Baker Mayfield to under 200 yards passing. Cameron Sutton was Cameron Sutton.

    All of that warrants at least an above average performance, but it’s barely above average because they did not finish the job. Mayfield torched the secondary in the fourth quarter, and that was simply not acceptable.

    Four straight touchdown drives cannot be allowed, and the secondary was the biggest culprit of that. Emmanuel Moseley and Malik Foreman each fell down on big plays, and despite looking better, they still struggled at times.

    Overall Defensive Grade: B

    The defense is the reason that the Vols remained in this game with their elite play for most of the game, and if you give your offense the ball in the other team’s red zone with a 17-3 lead late in the fourth quarter, they should be able to finish the job.

    But the unit has to be held accountable for the late-game collapse, regardless of how tired they were. And that had to bump them from an A down to a B.

    Next: Special Teams Grades

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