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Tennessee football: Five takeaways from Vols’ 34-3 loss at Florida

By Caleb Calhoun

GAINESVILLE, FL- SEPTEMBER 21: Trey Dean III #21 of the Florida Gators intercepts a throw from Jarrett Guarantano #2 of the Tennessee Volunteers during the first half of the game at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on September 21, 2019 in Gainesville, Florida. (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)
GAINESVILLE, FL- SEPTEMBER 21: Trey Dean III #21 of the Florida Gators intercepts a throw from Jarrett Guarantano #2 of the Tennessee Volunteers during the first half of the game at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on September 21, 2019 in Gainesville, Florida. (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images) /
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Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images
Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images /

3. Pass defense struggled without blitzing.

Tennessee football had to sell out to blitz the Gators all too often. Kyle Trask was deadly accurate, completing 20-of-28 passes for 293 and two touchdowns. He did have two picks and a fumble, but that’s because he struggled when the defense blitzed.

Those blitzes worked out at times. They helped force two of Florida’s three turnovers, and they gave the Vols a turnover on downs. So Jeremy Pruitt had something to work with when he was doing that.

However, Dan Mullen adjusted. Late in the first half and pn the opening drive of the second half, after the Vols got a spark with a field goal to make it 17-3,  Mullen began calling multiple screen passes. It worked.

Florida drove down the field to make it 17-3 at halftime and then 24-3 the third quarter. With that, Mullen was able to keep Jeremy Pruitt honest and make sure his offense stayed in control of the game.

Outside of a bad first drive, the secondary wasn’t terrible. The problem was that the pass rush could not get any pressure. However, with new starters across the defensive line playing in their first Power Five game, that was to be expected.

It just further serves as proof that UT has a heck of a lot of work to do in the trenches. They are severely missing Kyle Phillips, Alexis Johnson and Shy Tuttle, and Emmit Gooden’s injury is clearly being felt. There are clearly some issues here.

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