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Tennessee football Smokey points: Top five Vols in 24-20 Missouri win

By Caleb Calhoun

ATLANTA - DECEMBER 31: Tennessee Volunteers mascot Smokey IX howls during pre-game introductions before the Chick-Fil-A Bowl against the Virginia Tech Hokies at the Georgia Dome on December 31, 2009 in Atlanta, Georgia. Virginia Tech beat Tennessee 37-14. (Photo by Mike Zarrilli/Getty Images)
ATLANTA - DECEMBER 31: Tennessee Volunteers mascot Smokey IX howls during pre-game introductions before the Chick-Fil-A Bowl against the Virginia Tech Hokies at the Georgia Dome on December 31, 2009 in Atlanta, Georgia. Virginia Tech beat Tennessee 37-14. (Photo by Mike Zarrilli/Getty Images) /
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Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images
Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images /

Offensive weapons came from everywhere in Tennessee football’s victory at the Mizzou Tigers. These were the five best Volunteers performers.

While it was a team effort on defense, it’s pretty clear who the standout performers were on offense when Tennessee football beat the Missouri Tigers 24-20 on Saturday. And lots of people deserve credit for making this win happen.

The Vols used one of the greatest passing performances in school history to move to 6-5 on the year and drop Mizzou to 5-6, and it’s just another part of their emergence in Jeremy Pruitt’s second season on the job. Key stops and big plays told the story.

We can narrow down which players stood out for Tennessee football in the passing game, as that’s measurable by numbers alone. The defense deserves lots of praise as well, though, and that’s a bit harder.

As we get set to dish out our Smokey points for the top Vols in the game, it’s worth noting that naming individuals is not always indicative of which unit is better. Like we said, offense and defense stepped up in the game. But there were more individual standout players on offense, so we named more of them.

That’s not to take anything away from the collective effort of the defense, which withstood a late fumble by the Vols’ offense, allowing a first down on a fake punt and two blocked field goals. It’s just to say that when it came to making key plays and a difference, from an individual perspective, more offensive players came through.

Anyway, our list of top performers in this game is pretty clear. And to be fair, there was one clear standout defensive player, and his name won’t shock anybody. Once again, senior leaders and players who have enjoyed dramatic turnarounds this season were the ones who made the biggest headlines for Rocky Top.

All of this is part of the great turnaround story for UT, which lost its first two games at home to Group of Five schools and then fell to 1-4 at one point. Let’s break down who was responsible for the Vols’ fourth straight win to reach bowl eligibility at now 6-5. Here are the top five performers in Tennessee football’s victory at the Missouri Tigers.

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