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Tennessee football: 3 takeaways from Vols’ win vs. Indiana State

By Caleb Calhoun

KNOXVILLE, TN - SEPTEMBER 15: A view of the outside of Neyland Stadium before a game between the Florida Gators and Tennessee Volunteers on September 15, 2012 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by John Sommers II/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - SEPTEMBER 15: A view of the outside of Neyland Stadium before a game between the Florida Gators and Tennessee Volunteers on September 15, 2012 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by John Sommers II/Getty Images) /
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Tennessee football defeated the Indiana State Sycamores 42-7 on Saturday. Here are three takeaways from the Volunteers’ victory.

It wasn’t pretty, but following a short week in a double-overtime victory over the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, Tennessee football still got away with a win against the Indiana State Sycamores. The Vols scored on the opening play with a kickoff return from Ty Chandler.

The win was against a terrible FCS school, so there are not many things you can gather on the field from this game.

However, they did show some things and provide a bit of information. So with their 2-0 record and getting set for the Florida Gators next week, they do have reasons to be excited.

Here are three takeaways from Tennessee football’s 42-7 win over the Indiana State Sycamores.

1. Quinten Dormady is clearly the quarterback

We figured that Butch Jones was going to commit to Quinten Dormady long-term, and although Jarrett Guarantano got some action in this game, it clearly proved that. Not only was Guarantano just 4-for-12 for 41 yards, although he did have a nice touchdown pass, but he also did not play in some significant moments of the game.

Jones didn’t put Guarantano in until the Vols had a 14-0 first-half lead. And it’s worth pointing out that Dormady, despite a bad interception, was 13-of-18 for 194 yards and two touchdowns. So he outplayed Guarantano and is clearly the guy.

2. Tennessee football has a stable of running backs

We knew about John Kelly. But his 18 carries for 80 yards were a bit under-achieving today. His real success was the five catches for 60 yards. The story was the other running backs. Ty Chandler had a kick return for a touchdown along with four carries for 14 yards.

Meanwhile, Carlin Fils-Aime had four carries for 41 yards and two touchdowns. So the backs are clearly capable, and the Vols are in good shape here despite the loss of Alvin Kamara.

3. Defense is still a concern

Tennessee football’s defense was not exactly anything to be proud of in this game. They forced a couple of turnovers and benefitted from some Indiana State mistakes. But the Sycamores gained 215 yards on offense, and they had 122 yards rushing. That’s not good for a defense guarding an FCS school.

And were it not for a few mental errors, such as a misplayed screen, they could have had over 300 yards. As a result, the Vols have some major issues to work out before Florida next week on this side of the ball.

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