Tennessee football: Five takeaways from Vols’ 41-21 win over Gamecocks

5. Too many lapses were made in the Vols’ secondary.

Over the past few weeks, Tennessee football had been getting better and better in the secondary. That was becoming the biggest strength for them, as they had three interceptions against the Mississippi State Bulldogs and managed to keep the Vols in the game against the Alabama Crimson Tide, at least until the fourth quarter.

But on Saturday, while not horrible, they had far too many lapses in judgment. This started on the first play of the game, when Ryan Hilinski hit Shi Smith for a 75-yard touchdown. Smith finished the game with 11 receptions for 156 yards, one touchdown, and a one-handed catch that surpassed the catch Marquez North made against the South Carolina Gamecocks six years ago.

Beyond that, lapses in the secondary allowed for South Carolina to score two more touchdowns and go up 21-17 at halftime. It was a surprise problem given what the Vols had been enjoying from their secondary in previous weeks. Hilinski threw for 319 yards on the day. Now, he did throw 51 times, but that was still a struggle for the UT secondary.

Nigel Warrior still came through with 10 tackles and a tackle for a loss. Jaylen McCullough is also developing at safety. And it’s fair to say that the injury to Trevon Flowers has significantly set back the Vols in the secondary. But their issues were still significant, and we have to call them out when we see them. It’s the one negative from this game.