Before kickoff, everyone knew that Tennessee was going to have to be at its best to shock No. 1 Texas and make a statement. Unfortunately, the opposite was the case, especially on the offensive side of the ball, in the 20-17 win for the Longhorns.
This was a game that even if the Vols offense looked somewhat average, maybe a victory would have been posted. Instead, things just couldn't get off the ground at all, with Texas winning the battle in the trenches. The Vols made things quite interesting late with the Mike Matthews TD to cut the deficit to three, plus the onside kick, but a miracle ending never arrived. With that said, we've got our four biggest disappointments from the action, starting, of course, with the play of the guys up front.
4. Tennessee's offensive line couldn't do much to slow down Texas
Josh Heupel simply can't be happy with the performance of his offensive line, particularly the guards. Adversity arrived early when left guard Wendell Moe Jr. went down with a left ankle injury, but little did we know it'd have a massive impact on the rest of the action.
The guards were unable to open up holes for the running game, which couldn't be the case taking on Texas. On top of that, the tackle play wasn't much better, with Colin Simmons having his way with left tackle David Sanders Jr. in the second half. Simmons with five sacks? There's a reason he's a future first-rounder. Oh, and Texas totaled 10 sacks on the day. Unacceptable.
3. Faizon Brandon looked like a true freshman quarterback against Texas
With SEC play here, it was a golden opportunity for Faizon Brandon to make people forget that he was a true freshman signal-caller. Unfortunately, for most of the day, Brandon missed on some throws, didn't see simple plays in front of him, and just looked off.
However, we've got to give him some credit for fighting his way back from a shoulder injury in the first half. That took some guts from him, no question. However, he needed to be at his best to stun Texas, but there were just too many mistakes on his part. On the day, Brandon only completed 17 passes for 145 yards and a touchdown. Keep in mind the TD came in desperation time late in the fourth quarter.
2. The ground game didn't do much of anything for Tennessee in the loss to Texas
This ties in with the disappointing play of the offensive line, but what happened to Tennessee's rushing attack against the Longhorns? To take some pressure off Brandon, DeSean Bishop needed to look like one of the best running backs in the SEC, but he failed to live up to the hype.
Bishop had virtually no space to run, with the Texas defensive line doing everything possible to prevent him from breaking free for big runs. On the day, the veteran RB carried the ball 11 times for a disappointing 34 yards. It just wasn't good enough.
1. Tennessee wasted a golden opportunity to take down the No. 1 team in the country
This is a loss that's going to sting for multiple different reasons. At the top of the list has to be that Tennessee came close to a signature win, but sluggish play prevented the Vols from shocking the college football world. That's what makes things so disappointing.
Texas was WAY off its game too, with quarterback Arch Manning looking nothing like a potential Top-5 pick in the NFL Draft. He looked nothing like someone who deserves to be in the Heisman Trophy conversation. At the end of the day, though, Texas made the necessary plays to escape with a win, while the Vols will be left wondering what could have been. This one hurts.
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