All for Tennessee
Fansided

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) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
6 of 6
Next
Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images
Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images /

5. Defense played hard overall.

Despite the issues the pass defense had without blitzing, it was actually solid overall. Tennessee football had every chance to make this a game thanks to the plays it made on that side of the ball, and they played hard the whole game.

Sure, they gave up a touchdown on the opening drive. But Jeremy Pruitt did make adjustments, and the Vols gave their offense numerous chances to make this a game all the way into the fourth quarter. That side of the ball just couldn’t cash in.

This is the second straight loss in which the defense was the problem. In their opener against the Georgia State Panthers, the Vols lost because their defense was unable to contain Dan Ellington and their defensive line had to replace everybody.

However, guys were developing, in particular Henry To’oTo’o at inside linebacker. Then Daniel Bituli returned last week, and that became a big help for the Vols. He was part of the reason this team was able to get pressure on Kyle Trask throughout the day and help shut down the run game.

Now, the unit did give up over 400 yards of offense. But they were on the field so long that they eventually just got tired. They actually fought pretty hard for a while. You can’t do much when your offense only puts up three points and turns the ball over four times. All three turnovers Florida committed were forced by the Vol defense. So they deserve some credit.

Home/Vols Football