Tennessee vs. Western Carolina Report Card: Grading the Vols

Sep 19, 2015; Knoxville, TN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers head coach Butch Jones and Western Carolina Catamounts head coach Mark Speir before the game at Neyland Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports

Coaching: A

Starting with Butch Jones, he deserves a lot of credit for this game. It’s not that Tennessee ever should have struggled, but it had to be hard to keep the team focused after a devastating loss to the Oklahoma Sooners last week and with the Florida Gators up next week. But he kept them focused enough to put the game out of reach early.

And that allowed him to pull his starters, give them rest, and give the backup players plenty of reps. That is a major plus on his part.

The game plan was great as well. Mike DeBord made sure to try everything out for the most part, and the offense did not have trouble moving the ball, even when it got deeper into the depth chart in the third quarter.

The defense, meanwhile, was also great, as John Jancek had his players prepared to stop the spread from start to finish, and they only gave up two big plays all game, one of which happened with all backup players in.

Both game plans were fine, and a lot of players got some experience. That Tennessee had zero turnovers and only three penalties in the game is also a testament to the coaching, and they would obviously like to bring those penalty numbers down even further. But at this point, give the coaching staff credit for keeping the players ready to go and having the game in hand as early as they did.

That cannot be ignored.

Next: Smokey Points: Top Five Vols Who Performed vs. Western Carolina Catamounts