Tennessee football blame pie after 44-21 loss to Georgia

Which Tennessee football Volunteers are responsible for that loss at the Bulldogs?

Plenty of people were at fault for Tennessee football losing to the Georgia Bulldogs on Saturday. When you have three turnovers in a half and commit 84 yards worth of penalties, you’re already in trouble against a team that is better.

Despite a 21-17 lead at halftime that saw lots of positives, it’s impossible to ignore how bad that third quarter was for the Vols. They are at least still 2-1, and in general, there is no shame in losing this game. However, we wouldn’t be as harsh as we’re about to be if Rocky Top had just been out-gained by the Dawgs by over 200 yards. We expected that.

The problem was, despite Kirby Smart’s team making tons of mistakes to give this game away, Jeremy Pruitt’s team couldn’t cash in because of its own mistakes. Who’s at fault for that? Let’s break it down. Here is our blame pie for Tennessee football following UT’s 44-21 loss at the No. 3 ranked Georgia Bulldogs.

Offensive tackles: 35 percent

People will blame the offensive line in general, but in reality, most of the mistakes were at offensive tackles. The unit had 35 yards in penalties, and it was almost all from Cade Mays, Wanya Morris and Darnell Wright. In his return to Athens, Ga., Mays got confused multiple times by the movement on Georgia’s defensive line. Simply put, this unit had its worst day.

Running backs: 25 percent

Three turnovers in the second half all came down to poor pass protection. While the tackles were the main culprits in pass protection, Eric Gray and Ty Chandler had trouble picking up blitzes throughout the third quarter. They also got no rushing attack, and while they were solid catching passes, there were too many other issues.

Jarrett Guarantano: 20 percent

Yes, we called out the pass protection, but Jarrett Guarantano was still responsible for all of Tennessee football’s turnovers. His fumble and interception on the first two drives of the second half were both on third down. Although the protection caused them, Guarantano could have taken the sack both times. That would have kept UT in the game late, so he still shoulders blame.

Safeties and inside linebackers in coverage: 5 percent

Stetson Bennett and the Georgia Bulldogs converted on 50 percent of their third downs. The problem was the inside linebackers and safeties had tons of trouble covering passes over the middle. This is why Kearis Jackson, a slot receiver, had 91 yards and a touchdown and Tre’ McKitty, a tight end, was second on the team in receiving with 47 yards.

Coordinators: 5 percent

Jim Chaney and Derrick Ansley don’t deserve too much blame because it was hard to establish anything. However, those early turnovers in the second half were due to Chaney abandoning the run twice when he shouldn’t have. On defense, Stetson Bennett was horrible against the blitz. Maybe it was due to Deandre Johnson going out, but Derrick Ansley didn’t call enough of them.

Interior offensive line: 5 percent

While the offensive tackles were most of the problem, Tennessee football’s guards and center can’t get to much praise. Trey Smith didn’t make any mistakes, but the UT running backs only had 16 carries for 36 yards. That was largely due to poor blocking in the middle, so this unit gets some blame as well.

Deandre Johnson: 5 percent

It was an honest mistake, but we can’t oversell how much of a killer Deandre Johnson’s targeting penalty was in the first half. It kept the Georgia Bulldogs’ first touchdown drive alive, but more importantly, it knocked him out of the game. This was a big reason Stetson Bennett was solid on third downs. The pass rush wasn’t there without Johnson.