Tennessee football report card in 63-6 win vs. Akron

Coaching grades

Offensive play-calling: A+

You couldn’t ask for better play-calling. Until bringing in the backups, Alex Golesh had done his part to direct Tennessee football on a touchdown drive every single time the offense took the field. They effectively did that except for the first drive, which ended in a missed field goal, but the way things shaped out there wasn’t his fault.

Defensive play-calling: A

Yes, he allowed a few more yards through the air than anybody would have liked, but Tim Banks still called a great game. His blitzes were well-timed, and he dialed up the right calls to force turnovers, one of which was the almost-interception by Kamal Hadden. As a result, he still gets an A for what he did.

Overall head coaching grade: A

Although the penalties were an issue, and that holds this unit back, some of those were ticky tack, and you can’t ignore how Josh Heupel had the Vols ready to play. With the hangover of the Pittsburgh Panthers and the Florida Gators coming next week, that was probably harder to do than you might think.

Still, despite another semi slow start, Tennessee football was rolling and proved it was as excited to play this game as any. The Vols put on a show for their sellout crowd, which was also as excited for this game as any. That’s a testament to Heupel, so he gets an A.