Tennessee football Smokey Points: Top 5 Vols performers vs. UTEP Miners
There’s no doubt that Ty Chandler was the player of the game for Tennessee football against the UTEP Miners. In fact, despite numerous mistakes on offense, Chandler was the guy to help that unit do its part to keep the game out of reach.
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After getting hurt in the opener against the West Virginia Mountaineers, Chandler was held out against the ETSU Bucs due to injury. We mentioned the four-running back set, with Madre London and Jeremy Banks as the power backs. Well, Chandler and Tim Jordan are the splash play backs. And Jordan was pulling ahead there through the first two weeks.
But on Saturday, Chandler finally reminded us he is still around. The play everybody remembers is his 81-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. That highly skewed the stats for him overall, which were 12 carries for 158 yards and an average of over 13 yards a carry.
However, even without that run, he had 11 carries for 77 yards, averaging seven yards a carry. And that run still has to count. As a result, there’s no doubt that Chandler belongs at the top of this list for his play Saturday.
The Tennessee football rushing attack really came alive Saturday, even if it was against UTEP. If the Vols can keep this power/speed by-committee system going at a high level in the SEC and combine it with Jarrett Guarantano’s efficiency, the program could be in great shape going forward. Jeremy Pruitt will need all that to have an impact his first year on Rocky Top.