KNOXVILLE – Tennessee fans, though confident in Josh Heupel’s big orange culture shift, know better than to fully relax about an out of conference opponent like Akron until the fireworks start going off. Tennessee has, historically, had a reputation for playing down to their opponents, leaving countless out-of-conference games unresolved well into the second half. But not Saturday. The Vols (2-0, 0-0) were favored by, at points during the week, 50 points. That’s a ton, no matter who you’re playing. And, though the line eventually shifted to 46.5, Tennessee’s prolific, steady offense exceeded Las Vegas’s expectations and beat Akron by 57 in a 63-6 beatdown in front of a shockingly full Neyland Stadium. Let’s get into it.
THE GOOD.
Jalin Hyatt. Since arriving in Knoxville from Irmo, SC, Hyatt has been touting a massively high ceiling, with enviable speed and a chip on his shoulder, reminiscent of former Vols cookie monster, Alontae Taylor. But, for whatever reason, Hyatt has never been able to put together the pieces, mentally or physically, to activate his potential. Rumors out of the Neyland-Thompson training center this off-season were glowing in regard to Hyatt’s work and improvement, but it remained to be seen. Until now. Jalin Hyatt’s lightbulb moment has crescendoed over three games and only seems to be getting started, with the wideout currently leading Tennessee in receiving yards after putting his track speed on full display against The Zips. The second quarter saw Hyatt effectively end the game with homerun catches of 47 and 57 yards from QB Hendon Hooker. A player this fast, putting the pieces. together in an offense this fast, is extremely exciting. Now that the lightbulb is on, Hyatt just has to keep it on.
Dylan Sampson and Jaylen Wright. After Jabari Small exiting the game after taking a shot to his repaired shoulder (more on this below), the Vols were left with Jaylen Wright and freshman Dylan Sampson to carry the load for the Tennessee rushing attack. And the tandem answered the call. Wright had already proven himself to be the most physical runner on the team, and he played like it against Akron. This was also Wright’s first game without a fumble, which is a big step in the right direction, if Wright will remain top dog. Sampson was one of the rumbles out of camp, that he was putting the pieces together quickly and playing with an edge, both as a runner and pass protector. Those rumors also turned out to be extremely true. Sampson played like an experienced SEC back on Saturday, racking up two touchdowns and running with energy. Both Sampson and Wright individually out rushed the entire Akron Offense. This is extremely positive news if Jabari Small’s shoulder turns out to be serious.
Neyland Stadium. Tennessee entered the season just outside of the national rankings, with voters still a little skeptical in the wake of UT’s clunky loss to Purdue in the Music City Bowl, but those concerns seem to have vanished quickly. Tennessee came into Saturday ranked 15th after their road win in Pittsburgh, so naturally there is some buzz in the fanbase. But, to sell the stadium out for a, no offense, nothingburger like Akron is a massive deal for this team and for Athletic Director Danny White. I’ve been following Tennessee football my entire life, rarely missing a home game as a kid, and I cannot recall a stadium that was full for a worse opponent. With Tennessee’s destruction of Akron elevating the Vols to 11th nationally, all the stars are aligned for an absolute madhouse when arch-rival Florida comes to town next week for the CBS 3:30pm showdown.
Tennessee’s Defensive Front. So far in 2022, Tennessee has been really stressful for runners and passers. This trend was on full display against Akron, holding the Zips to just 1.5 yards per attempt, 35 yards in total. Teams continue to experience slightly more success against Tennessee’s secondary, but the way Tennessee is making teams one-dimensional will be a major factor in the SEC swing games on the horizon.
Josh Heupel. Josh Heupel was brought to Tennessee for a few reasons. He was tasked with flipping the culture. He was tasked with plugging in his signature “warp speed” offense that succeeded at UCF and Missouri. And he was tasked with helping Tennessee’s football team keep the wheels on the tracks in the last phase of the NCAA investigation into former-HC Jeremy Pruitt’s super weird and often embarrassing transgressions on Rocky Top. And he’s doing it. Nobody knows what the future holds, and every new coach to come to Tennessee keeps the vibe alive in some respect, but Heupel is succeeding in his three tasks on a level that just feels different, and that success is transferring to the field. And the real opportunity to cement his status in Knoxville arrives next Saturday in the form of a Florida Gator team that is extremely lucky to not be 0-3, after squirming out of defeats from both Utah and South Florida. There are very few teams that Tennessee fans long to defeat more than Florida, who have dominated the last two decades against Tennessee.
THE BAD
Jabari Small and Cedric Tillman’s Bodies. Losing star players in easily won tune-up games is the absolute worst. Tennessee fans have experienced it a few times throughout history. I’ll date myself by saying that my first real dose of sports heartbreak was losing prolific Tennessee running back Chuck Webb to a meaningless game against Pacific in 1990, effectively ended his career in a game that was going to go to Tennessee, regardless. That’s the true way to lose a game like Saturday’s clash with Akron, and Tennessee didn’t come out of it clean, either. None of us will actually know the state of Jabari Small’s shoulder or Cedric Tillman’s leg until around 3:30pm on Saturday, as Tennessee will be controlling that information with fervor this week, so as to keep Florida preparing for the full ensemble cast. It makes no sense to completely hold out players in a game this early in the year, but this type of injury is the risk, every snap. Fans will be watching this for developments all week.
Discipline Deficiency. A very disappointing factor in this game was Tennessee’s willingness to engage with Akron’s frustrated players trying to start little skirmishes once the game was out of hand. Other teams will see this lack of composure and try to knock the Vols out of focus with similar chippiness. Earlier in the year, we saw Jaylen Wright losing focus in this way, but that has seemed to resolve itself, but Saturday, the Vols were penalized for over 100yds, and Jimmy Calloway was ejected for throwing a series of punches for what seemed like little-to-no reason. As Tennessee gets into games that truly matter now, this is a situation that we should keep our eyes on.
Akron Football. Akron Football is bad. Every new coach likes to lean into “I inherited a mess” to buy time, but Joe Moorehead actually inherited a pretty significant mess. That said, Akron actually seems to have some talent, certainly more than enough talent to avoid being one of the 3 worst teams in the NCAA. And yet, they are garbage. I remember being at SEC Media Days when Joe Moorehead was first hired by Mississippi State and he was trying to say nice things about southern food and it really felt super awful and disingenuous. And now he’s coaching the worst football team on earth. So I guess life kinda works out.
THE WEIRD:
Without question, the highlight of the game for Akron was a punt, during which Tennessee’s Walker Merrill broke free and was in perfect position to block, so the Akron Punter simply didn’t kick it, side stepped and then kicked it safely once Merrill had flown by. It was incredibly, objectively smooth. And that could’ve been the end of it, but Play by Play analyst and color commentators Drew Carter and Aaron Murray had other plans. So, we got to spend the next few minutes listening to them riff on the punter’s long hair, over a shot of the punter just trying to watch the game, looking frustrated because OH I DON’T KNOW bc his team was getting absolutely, godlessly railed by Tennessee. But on they went, saying cringey old slang like “he got swag” and repeatedly calling his hair “the lettuce” as the punter flatly looked on at the awful football team he punts for. To neutralize my pallette, I pulled up the GIF of Aaron Murray taking a crushing block against Alabama in the 2012 SEC championship game and let it loop for a while. Sweet relief.
STAT OF THE GAME – This week’s stat of the game is the score, 63-6. Tennessee, it seems, has learned how to win the games it ought to and, in this case, they covered one of the largest point spreads in program history. The first step to stealing the big ones is solidifying your base-level performance, and wins like this show that Tennessee is, in fact, ahead of schedule in learning to handle their business.
THE PIVOT – Until Tennessee is truly ready to start competing with UGA and Alabama, a Vols football season will be judged by two games. They have to beat Kentucky because, even though they are a fairly good team most of the time, history has billed Kentucky as losers in Football, and many of us have only seen Tennessee lose to UK 3-4 times in our lifetime. And do you know why The Vols always have an edge on even great UK teams? Extreme confidence, validated by history.
And, if a season is to feel like success, Tennessee must beat Florida, the mean-spirited SEC East rival who have beaten Tennessee, sometimes with REALLY bad teams, 16 of the last 17 matchups. And do you know why The Gators always have an edge on even great Tennessee teams? Extreme confidence, validated by history. Even in 2022, where Florida needed all the help in the world to get past Utah and lowly South Florida, narrowly dodging an 0-3 start, Florida will walk into Neyland Stadium and see a field that they’ve generally owned. The 2022 Tennessee Volunteers are absolutely playing like the #11 team in the country, and Josh Heupel has put together a stunning offense that can run with anyone. If the Vols D can neutralize Anthony Richardson’s ability to scramble and continue to control the line of scrimmage, this is a game Tennessee not only can win, but can win with style. The real season starts now.
