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Tennessee football: Five takeaways from Vols 44-21 loss to Georgia

By Caleb Calhoun

Oct 10, 2020; Athens, Georgia, USA; Georgia Bulldogs wide receiver Jermaine Burton (7) gets pushed out of bounds by Tennessee Volunteers linebacker Henry To'o To'o (11) during the first half at Sanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 10, 2020; Athens, Georgia, USA; Georgia Bulldogs wide receiver Jermaine Burton (7) gets pushed out of bounds by Tennessee Volunteers linebacker Henry To'o To'o (11) during the first half at Sanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports /
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ATHENS, GEORGIA – OCTOBER 10: Jarrett Guarantano #2 of the Tennessee Volunteers passes against the Georgia Bulldogs during the first half at Sanford Stadium on October 10, 2020 in Athens, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
ATHENS, GEORGIA – OCTOBER 10: Jarrett Guarantano #2 of the Tennessee Volunteers passes against the Georgia Bulldogs during the first half at Sanford Stadium on October 10, 2020 in Athens, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /

1. Offensive line play was atrocious.

This was the story of the game. After having a great showing in its first two weeks, a Tennessee football offensive line with four five-stars, including Georgia Bulldogs transfer Cade Mays, plus a fifth-year senior, was ready to show it could compete with the big boys. It couldn’t.

All the negative storylines in this game came down to the play of this unit. Penalties were a huge story, as the Vols, one of the least penalized teams through the first two games, had 10 for 84 yards. Of those penalties, 35 yards were solely due to false starts and holding calls.

Turnovers by Jarrett Guarantano were another story. However, all three turnovers were due to missed blocks on the left side, which he couldn’t see. He had another fumble that was recovered, but that again was due to missed blocks.

Then there are the basic stats of the Vols being sacked five times and Ty Chandler and Eric Gray only having 16 carries for 36 yards. Simply put, the unit was bad in every way it could be, and that was a problem.

Wanya Morris, who looked great through two weeks, had his worst game and still showed his youth, getting beat on numerous plays. Darnell Wright had a mistake on the other side. Mays didn’t look great in his return to Athens. All in all, this was a poor performance. Offense as a whole had numerous issues, but it all started with mistakes up front.

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