EDITOR”S NOTE: Each week, we grade Tennessee’s performance as it relates to General Neyland’s famous seven maxims of football. Welcome to the Rocky Top Report Card.
By SCOTT FELTS
Tennessee rolled to a 45-24 victory over Georgia Tech last night at Bobby Dodd Stadium. Here is how the Vols (2-0) graded out against the classic game maxims of General Neyland.
1. The team that makes the fewest mistakes will win. (Grade: C)
Tennessee still won, but the penalties were ugly: 14 flags for 142 yards against Georgia Tech’s five for 46. False starts, holding, offside, and pass interference repeatedly stalled drives or extended Yellow Jacket possessions. The Vols did not turn the ball over – they fumbled once and recovered it – while Georgia Tech threw two interceptions. Clean football would have made this a more comfortable evening; the self-inflicted wounds kept the door cracked longer than necessary.
2. Play for and make the breaks. When one comes your way…SCORE. (Grade: A)
Tennessee was excellent here. Dejuan Lane returned an interception 41 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter, swinging momentum and giving the Vols a 17-10 lead. Tennessee stayed in front the rest of the way. Jeremiah Telander added another interception. When the Vols got the ball in scoring position after defensive stops or short fields (including a late fourth-quarter sequence that produced DeSean Bishop’s 29-yard touchdown run), they finished. Two rushing scores from Bishop, a 47-yard dash by Daune Morris, and two Faizon Brandon touchdown passes (25 yards to Ethan Davis, 20 yards to Braylon Staley) showed they knew how to convert opportunities into points.
3. If at first the game or the breaks go against you, don’t let up … put on more steam. (Grade: A-)
Georgia Tech blocked a Jackson Ross punt and returned it 3 yards for a touchdown to take a 10-7 lead late in the first quarter. Tennessee responded immediately with a long drive that produced a Cooper Ranvier field goal to tie the game, then followed with Lane’s pick-six and continued to pour it on. The Vols never panicked after the special-teams disaster and outscored Georgia Tech 38-14 the rest of the way. The response after adversity was decisive.
4. Protect our kickers, our QB, our lead and our ball game. (Grade: B+)
Brandon was sacked only once for 1 yard and threw zero interceptions while completing 10 of 21 passes for 148 yards and the two scores. The offensive line largely kept him clean. Kickers were mostly protected. Ranvier was perfect on PATs and the one field-goal try but the blocked punt was a clear failure in protection. Once Tennessee took the lead for good in the second quarter, the defense and running game (Bishop’s 147 yards and two touchdowns, Morris’s 98 yards and a score) protected the advantage. The late-game collapse that allowed Georgia Tech a touchdown was frustrating, with Tim Merritt committing three pass interference penalties on the same drive, but insignificant given the final margin.
5. Ball, oskie, cover, block, cut and slice, pursue and gang tackle … for this is the WINNING EDGE. (Grade: A-)
“Oskie” rang out twice. Lane’s 41-yard pick-six was the highlight, and Telander’s interception also produced a short field. The defense recorded four sacks (Mariyon Dye had two for 13 yards, with one each for Jordan Norman and Telander) and seven tackles for loss. Pursuit and gang tackling showed up in limiting Georgia Tech to 4.4 yards per carry and forcing incomplete passes and negative plays. Coverage was generally solid enough to produce the two takeaways despite Alberto Mendoza completing 26 of 40 passes for 221 yards. The edge was clear.
6. Press the kicking game. Here is where the breaks are made. (Grade: D+)
This was the clear weak spot. Georgia Tech blocked a punt and scored, flipping the early momentum. Tennessee’s net punting was only 28.5 yards, and the blocked attempt was a direct breakdown in protection and coverage. On the other side, the Vols did little to create chaos on Georgia Tech’s punts or kickoffs. Josh Turbyville’s kickoffs were strong (seven touchbacks), but the unit as a whole failed to generate the positive breaks the maxim demands and instead gave one away.
7. Carry the fight to our opponent and keep it there for 60 minutes. (Grade: A)
From the opening 25-yard touchdown pass to Davis through the final 47-yard Morris touchdown run with 1:30 left, Tennessee dictated terms for most of the night. The Vols outgained Georgia Tech 447-356, controlled the line of scrimmage with 299 rushing yards, and answered every Georgia Tech scoring drive with more points of their own. Even when the Yellow Jackets put together late scoring drives, Tennessee responded immediately and never allowed the game to become a true contest after the second quarter. The Vols stayed in the fight for the full 60 minutes.
Overall
Tennessee executed most of the maxims at a high level, especially creating and converting takeaways, responding to adversity, and sustaining physical play. The penalty total and the blocked punt disaster kept a couple of grades from being elite, but the final result reflected a team that largely executed the principles that win games.