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Tennessee football report card: Grading the Vols in their 42-41 OT win vs. Georgia Tech

By Caleb Calhoun

ATLANTA, GA - SEPTEMBER 04: Jashon Robertson
ATLANTA, GA - SEPTEMBER 04: Jashon Robertson /
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ATLANTA, GA – SEPTEMBER 04: Darrell Taylor (Photo by Kevin C. Cox, Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA – SEPTEMBER 04: Darrell Taylor (Photo by Kevin C. Cox, Getty Images) /

Defensive Grades

Defensive Line: F

The defensive ends actually weren’t so bad, and Darrell Taylor was quite good actually. But the defensive tackles were terrible. They were worse than bad. If you could do an F quadruple-minus, that would be the move. The Vols could not stop TaQuon Marshall on that triple-option, and he ran or over 250 yards and five touchdowns. With KirVonte Benson and Nathan Cottrell also helping out, this team ran for 535 yards and six touchdowns. And it was all rooted in the defensive tackles’ inability to get pressure on the offensive line. That alone makes this an F grade.

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    • Linebackers: C

    Daniel Bituli was a star for the Vols here, forcing a fumble and getting 23 tackles. And the Tennessee football linebackers did all they could with the tackles playing so terribly. But Bituli and Cortez McDowell were limited on the plays they could make. On top of that, Colton Jumper, despite playing great assignment football, still struggled to get off blocks at times. That’s what allowed so many five-yard gains.

    Secondary: C

    This unit could have gotten an F. The Tennessee football secondary did the one thing you can’t do against this team, which is let them lull you to sleep before burning you with the big play. That happened to Justin Martin twice and Micah Abernathy at one point as well. However, Rashaan Gaulden and Nigel Warrior did all they could in the game. And Gaulden made the defensive play of regulation by forcing a fumble late to set up the Vols’ final touchdown before overtime. So that’s enough for this group to earn a C.

    Overall defensive grade: F

    The average may not come out this way, but the Tennessee football defensive tackles were so bad that this was all we could do. The defense gave up 665 yards and could not stop them from the second quarter on unless there was a penalty, a turnover or an injury. So yeah, the Vols and Bob Shoop failed miserably on this side of the ball against Georgia Tech.

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