Tennessee football: Five takeaways from 35-12 win vs. Missouri

1. Rushing attack was dominant

Cade Mays came back, and Tennessee football finally returned to its Phillip Fulmer days given its physical play. The Vols rushed for over 230 yards with 51 overall carries, although two of them were kneel-downs at the end of the game, and had four total touchdowns on the ground.

Eric Gray was the star of the attack, as he had 16 carries for 105 yards and two touchdowns from scrimmage. Ty Chandler, however, had 19 carries for 90 yards, one touchdown and 103 overall yards from scrimmage. Even true freshman Jabari Small had 27 yards on just four carries.

Then there was Jarrett Guarantano, who had two quarterback sneaks for touchdowns and ran for 14 yards on 10 carries. The Vols converted four fourth downs on the day, all on sneaks by Guarantano. Simply put, they were dominant on the ground.

Why was this? Well, the offensive line was dominant. With Mays now on the line along with Wanya Morris, Trey Smith, Brandon Kennedy, Darnell Wright and even rotational guys like Jerome Carvin, this unit is dominant.

The only exception was one drive in which they had a false start, a holding and allowed a sack on three straight plays. That was the only sack allowed all game, and everything else was perfect. Jeremy Pruitt has rebuilt this line, Will Friend has done a great job of developing it, and Jim Chaney now has the freedom to call the game he wants to. It showed in this game.