Tennessee Beats South Carolina: Five Things We Learned About Vols

Here are five things we learned about the Tennessee Volunteers football team in their 27-24 victory over the Gamecocks at Neyland Stadium Saturday night.

Talk about a scare.

Looking to make a statement, the Tennessee Vols appeared to be in great shape after jumping out to a 17-0 lead over the South Carolina Gamecocks in the first half.

Everything was going right for the Vols, from their rushing attack to Joshua Dobbs’s passing to even Aaron Medley’s kicking.

But, as has been the story of the season, Tennessee could not hold the lead. South Carolina tied it up at 17, then Tennessee took the lead right back with a touchdown pass from Dobbs to Alvin Kamara.

The Gamecocks tied it up again, before another Medley field goal in the fourth to make it 27-24, which ended up being the final score thanks to a forced fumble by Malik Foreman that Jalen Reeves-Maybin recovered.

At least the Vols pulled out a close game after they blew a lead. That shows growth, right? Anyway, here are the five things we learned about the Tennessee football team in their victory over the Gamecocks.

1. Joshua Dobbs is Still Too Reckless

This was evident in the first half with the Vols leading. Already up 14-0, Dobbs had another one of his infamous fumbles on a simple two-yard keeper. The fumble set up South Carolina perfectly in Tennessee territory, and they were lucky to hold the Gamecocks scoreless thanks to a missed field goal. Still, that fumble blew a chance for the Vols to push in on the throat of the Gamecocks.

He threw one interception that cost the Vols a score at the end of the half as well, and quite honestly, he could have thrown three to four interceptions. Dobbs is still a playmaker and a very good quarterback. But he has got to be more careful with the football.

2. Butch Jones is Once Again Vindicated on Aaron Medley

Two weeks ago, there were calls to bench Aaron Medley at kicker because of the fact that he could not hit long kicks. However, in college football, if you have a kicker with a strong leg who is automatic within 40 yards, you stick with him. And Jones knew to stick with Medley due to that, knowing that eventually the accuracy on long kicks would come.

They have come. For the second straight week, Medley nailed a field goal from beyond 40 yards, a 44-yarder to be exact, that gave the Vols a 17-0 lead. That’s the accuracy we’ve been waiting for. Then, what Medley is good for came to light in the fourth quarter. It was only a 27-yarder, but he nailed another kick to secure the Vols’ 27-24 victory, once again showing he’s automatic inside 40. Jones was right to stick with him, and he deserves a lot of credit for that decision.

3. The Tennessee Defense Has to do Better Against Mobile Quarterbacks

The past three games before South Carolina, the Vols had an amazing pass rush and gave the other teams hell. That was mainly due to the atrocious offensive line of Kentucky and the immobility of Alabama and Georgia quarterbacks. But this week, Perry Orth gave them far too hard of a time with his dual-threat abilities. The junior barely completed 50 percent of his passes, but he had 233 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions.

Add in his 42 rushing yards and the fact that he was only sacked once, and Tennessee’s defense has some explaining to do. John Jancek has got to work to get this corrected. Remember Will Grier and Baker Mayfield are also semi-mobile, and they torched the Vols. That can’t keep happening.

4. The Offensive Line Still Has Some Developing to Do

This had to be expected because of how young the unit is and all of the injuries that have taken place. But against a very weak South Carolina defensive front, the Vols struggled to keep consistency in the running game. And Joshua Dobbs had far too much trouble as well.

Losing Dylan Wiesman to injury only made things worse given the fact that he was filling in for Jashon Robertson, the best lineman on the team. So it is easy to see why the line is struggling. But that does not change the fact that they were the unit that performed by far the worst.

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5. Tennessee Has Developed Some Mental Toughness

Coming back from 24-3 against Georgia, hanging in there with Alabama, and responding to Kentucky showed that the Vols are a much more mentally tough team than they were early in the season. But this game showed it more than ever.

They blew another two-score or beyond lead after being up 17-0 in this game. But each time South Carolina tied it up, they responded with a play. And then, in something that has not happened all year, the defense made a game-saving play to win the game. Tennessee easily could have panicked and said, “Not Again,” when they blew the lead. But they kept fighting and kept playing, and they made crucial plays at the end. That has to count for something.