Tennessee football: Five takeaways from Vols 31-27 win at South Carolina

1. The passing game is still hard to explain.

On paper, nobody can complain about what Jarrett Guarantano did. He completed 19-of-31 passes for 259 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions, and he also ran for a touchdown. That’s all anybody can ask for from their quarterback.

At the same time, new weapons emerged as well. There were questions as to whether or not Josh Palmer and Brandon Johnson would be able to fill the shoes of Marquez Callaway and Jauan Jennings, and through one game at least, they have shown that they can.

Palmer led the way with six receptions for 85 yards and a touchdown. However, Johnson was great on his own, coming away with three receptions for 73 yards and making a huge third-down one-handed catch at one point.

Eric Gray and Ty Chandler were still the same weapons in the passing game with a 31-yard and 10-yard reception respectively, adding to Chandler’s 86 yards rushing and Gray’s 40 yards rushing and a touchdown. The issue, however, was Guarantano’s accuracy.

Multiple times throughout the day, Guarantano overshot often on simple out routes or slants. As a result, he could have been 25 of 31 for over 300 yards and multiple touchdowns. The fifth-year senior is what he is, and he won’t lose the game for Rocky Top, but it’s still weird.

For a guy who stands tough in the pocket, makes all the right decisions and doesn’t turn the ball over, it’s hard to explain how Guarantano could miss so many easy throws. Maybe it was first-game jitters, but it was once again Jekyll and Hyde with Tennessee football’s signal-caller.