Missed opportunities continue to haunt Tennessee football in the first half

It's no secret that redshirt freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava has struggled to hit his targets throughout his first season as Tennessee's starting quarterback. It seems like that has changed, at least for the first half of Tennessee's game against Kentucky. 

Nico has hit his targets throughout most of the first half. His first-half stat line is 13 completions on 18 attempts for 152 yards, but it should include at least two more completions and possibly two more touchdowns to his first-half stat line. 

It takes two to score a touchdown pass, and Tennessee's receivers haven't been able to catch the long ball despite being hit in the hands twice and dropping two touchdown passes. One drop should have been called for defensive pass interference, but Kentucky survived with a no-call. 

Despite being unable to bring in the long ball, Tennessee's offense has moved the ball down the field. Tennessee has made three trips to the red zone, attempted two field goals, and only scored seven points in the first half. Max Gilbert missed two field goals that he likely would have made earlier this season. 

Even Tennessee's star running back Dylan Sampson cost the Vols a possession after fumbling the ball on the second play of Tennessee's third drive, quickly ending their opportunity to put points on the board.

Tennessee's offense will have to find a way to put everything together in the second half if it wants to beat Kentucky. The Wildcats' offense hasn't been very good this year, but the Vols' defense has bailed them out and given them the opportunity to take a 10-7 lead at halftime. 

The first half ended about as perfectly as you could expect after a rough start. Tennessee was able to move the ball to midfield with a few seconds remaining on the clock, but the clock ran out before Tennessee could get another snap off, preventing the Vols from taking a shot to the end zone. 

While Tennessee dropped passes, missed opportunities, and left points on the field, it did score its first touchdown in the first half since the Oklahoma game on September 22. The Vols trail 10-7 and will look to continue its second-half dominance on both sides of the ball.