Tennessee football: Vols stock report following Week 11 of 2019

Stock down

Running backs

We would have thought that the key to beating the Kentucky Wildcats was running the ball. But Jim Chaney won by going to the air and exploiting one-on-one matchups. Meanwhile, despite a couple of nice runs by Ty Chandler and a great block by Tim Jordan, this unit was awful on Saturday. Jarrett Guarantano led the team in rushing. That’s an indictment against these guys.

Chandler only had 28 yards on seven carries. He also had a horrific fumble that almost gave the game to Kentucky in the end. Oh, and he had minus-three yards receiving. Tim Jordan had nine yards on three carries, and Eric Gray had one carry for no yards. Chandler was solid the week before, but depth and consistency continue to elude this bunch. That’s a problem.

Defensive tackles

Sure, Darel Middleton blocked an extra point. But last week was the first time in a while the defensive tackles seemed to take a step back. Tennessee football knew Kentucky would run it every time with Lynn Bowden Jr. at quarterback, and they still allowed too many successful carries by this team. That’s why they had over 300 yards on the ground.

It’s also why they needed three late stands, including one on the goal-line. And their inability to stop known running plays resulted in UK building a 13-0 lead early, which is a big reason the running backs could never get into a rhythm to begin with. We don’t know if this will last, but for now, the stock is back down like it was at the beginning of the year.