Tennessee vs Missouri Report Card: Grading the Vols Against the Tigers
Nov 21, 2015; Columbia, MO, USA; Tennessee Volunteers head coach Butch Jones congratulates players coming off the field during the first half against the Missouri Tigers at Faurot Field. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
Coaching Grade: A
Butch Jones, Mike DeBord, John Jancek, and the entire staff came in with the perfect game plan all night.
In the cold in a game that was destined to be ugly, DeBord went conservative on offense against a team with a great pass rush but a suspect run defense overall. He capitalized off of that by going to Jalen Hurd…a lot. He made Hurd the workhorse he should be, making sure the Vols did not make huge mistakes or have any turnovers, and that worked out perfectly.
Meanwhile, he mixed in Alvin Kamara, running plays from Joshua Dobbs, and passing plays at the perfect times to keep the Vols on the field. It was not his fault that Tennessee could not capitalize in the red zone. That was on the receivers.
Meanwhile, on defense, John Jancek had his linebackers perfectly prepared to handle Gary Pinkel’s spread offense, and that is what allowed the secondary and defensive line to play more aggressively. It made for a perfect performance.
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Butch Jones did a great job keeping his players focused given everything psychologically that should have been working in Missouri’s favor. He and DeBord were also smart to stick to a conservative game plan in the second half, and they did just that en route to securing the Tennessee victory.
All of this leaves nothing to complain about with the coaching staff this week. They put together a perfect game plan, managed the circumstances well, and had their players motivated and focused all game. It showed as they got out of Columbia with a complet 19-8 victory.
Next: Smokey Points: Top 5 Vols Who Performed vs Missouri Tigers