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Tennessee football: Five takeaways from Vols 30-7 win vs. UAB

By Caleb Calhoun

KNOXVILLE, TN - OCTOBER 25: The Tennessee Volunteers marching band performs prior to the game between the Volunteers and the Alabama Crimson Tide at Neyland Stadium on October 25, 2014 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - OCTOBER 25: The Tennessee Volunteers marching band performs prior to the game between the Volunteers and the Alabama Crimson Tide at Neyland Stadium on October 25, 2014 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /
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Photo by Joe Murphy/Getty Images
Photo by Joe Murphy/Getty Images /

4. This was a complete kicking performance by Tennessee football.

In previous weeks, Punter U had lost its way on the Vols. But it appeared to return in time for their 41-21 victory over the South Carolina Gamecocks, only for Brent Cimaglia to miss just his second field goal of the season in that game. Now Cimaglia did make two others, one of which was beyond 40 again. But that miss was his first of the season from inside 40 yards.

So the question heading into this week revolved around whether or not UT could get back to its kicking game and punting game being elite at the same time. Well, they proved it could on both fronts. Cimaglia got things started, building a 9-0 lead for the Vols. He hit field goals of 36 and 48 yards to get started.

But then Cimaglia nailed a 53-yarder, the longest of any Vol since Jeff Hall in 1995, with room to spare to build a 9-0 lead. And then he didn’t miss any extra points or any other field goals, so he was back to being perfect. Meanwhile, Paxton Brooks kicked the ball off seven times, and none of them allowed UAB to take the ball past the 25.

Punting, though, also maintained itself as Cimaglia returned, and it was with Brooks back there. Brooks had five punts for 220 yards, averaging 44 yards a punt. He had a 54-yarder and pinned two punts inside the 20, one inside the 10. Now, he did have one for a touchback, so he wasn’t perfect, unlike Cimaglia. But he was very good, meaning the kicking unit as a whole is back.

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