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Tennessee football report card: Grading the Vols in loss to Alabama

By Caleb Calhoun

KNOXVILLE, TN - OCTOBER 20: Head Coach Jeremy Pruitt of the Tennessee Volunteers on the sidelines during the second half of the game between the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Tennessee Volunteers at Neyland Stadium on October 20, 2018 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Alabama won 58-21. (Photo by Donald Page/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - OCTOBER 20: Head Coach Jeremy Pruitt of the Tennessee Volunteers on the sidelines during the second half of the game between the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Tennessee Volunteers at Neyland Stadium on October 20, 2018 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Alabama won 58-21. (Photo by Donald Page/Getty Images) /
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Photo by John Sommers II/Getty Images
Photo by John Sommers II/Getty Images /

Offense

Quarterbacks: B+

Jarrett Guarantano got off to a horrible start. He missed Marquez Callaway on an easy slant route on the first play of the game, and then he fumbled on third down. However, the unit as a whole settled down after that. Before getting hurt, Guarantano did complete five passes for 63 yards, including a 30-yarder to Josh Palmer. Then Keller Chryst came in, and he completed 9-of-15 passes for 164 yards and two touchdowns with no picks. That qualifies as a very good day for this group against the Alabama Crimson Tide.

Running Backs: C-

It’s still hard to gauge all the running backs for Tennessee football. Tim Jordan was solid by averaging three and a half yards a carry and going for 50 yards. But Ty Chandler had less than 25 yards and fewer than two and a half yards a carry, and Madre London had negative yards for a second straight week. But Jordan and Chandler made plays in the passing game, specifically Chandler with 39 receiving yards and a touchdown. However, he can’t carry this group. And with that touchdown also came his dumb fair-catch call on the kickoff. Add in Jeremy Banks’s mistake on the attempted onside kick, and these guys played poorly overall. So yes, they deserve a C-.

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends: A-

The Vols had to go through two quarterbacks with no help in the running game and the first quarterback making lots of mistakes. Nonetheless, their wide receivers and tight ends somehow managed to help the team get over 220 passing yards and two passing touchdowns. And, as we mentioned in the opener, they’re the first team all year to have a 100-yard receiver against Alabama. Jauan Jennings did the deed with 102 yards on six receptions. Palmer and Brandon Johnson also made big plays, and Tyler Byrd made an appearance with a touchdown. This unit was very good all day.

Offensive Line: F

If you could go below F, we would with this unit. Scratch that. We would go below F for the left guard play. That sole position is the one reason Tennessee football was horrible on the offensive line. Jeremy Pruitt and Tyson Helton ran through three guys there, but it didn’t matter. They were the sole reason for the safety on Chryst, the sack-fumble on Guarantano, and the Vols having only a net of 31 total rushing yards thanks to three sacks overall on Guarantano. Again, it was almost all on the left guard play. But that was enough to drag down the entire unit like I’ve never seen.

Overall offensive grade: C-

Tennessee football did score 14 points against the Alabama Crimson Tide. And they drove into field goal range on the other drive. So that’s not half bad. But they did give up a safety and had a turnover. Because of the line play that caused that, the line play single-handedly made this grade a C-.

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