PITTSBURGH, PA – Tennessee knew it was going to face a stout Pittsburgh defense in an emotional setting following their rivalry thriller against West Virginia just a week ago, and that is what came to pass. Tennessee responded with one of the best defensive performances of the Josh Heupel era and an offense that remained patient and poised through overtime to snatch a 34-27 win over 17tth-ranked Pitt.
THE GOOD:
BIG ORANGE D-STROYERS. You never want to see injuries in football and we wish all the Pitt players who left the game a healthy recovery, particularly USC transfer QB Kedon Slovis, who still has a ton of promise. That said, this was one of the most dominant and violent performances by a Tennessee pass rush in recent memory. Byron Young is already ascending, but this game was a particularly poignant illustration of his high ceiling. Even the announcers pointed out early that Slovis wouldn’t last the game if the Pitt blockers didn’t figure it out. And they didn’t. And he didn’t. Even back-up Nick Patti was under constant pressure and sustained some damage, though he did finish the game on basically one leg. Heading into the year, it was widely agreed upon that Tennessee’s potential would be limited only by what their defense was able to accomplish, and I agree. If this is the identity of DC Tim Banks’s 2022 defense, the ceiling might be a bit higher than expected.
CEDRIC THE SPONGE. Tennessee’s breakout star of 2021, WR Cedric Tillman, was always going to soak up defenders in 2022. And that phenomenon is right on schedule. And with that absorption, one might assume, brings two things: A decrease in productivity from the future NFL receiver and, more importantly, a sharp increase in open looks from the rest of Tennessee’s gifted array of receivers. To the first point, even with the increase in attention, Tillman is simply difficult to defend. Tillman caught for 162 yards on nine receptions, including Tennessee’s go-ahead touchdown in OT. He actually could’ve had a much bigger day, but several big opportunities slipped through his fingertips. He can and needs to improve in this way. To the second point: Jalen Hyatt and Bru McCoy are now eating. Hyatt, in particular, saw his first really productive game, finding himself often wide open on account of the attention going to McCoy and Tillman, and the results were 11 catches for 73 yards, many coming in critical moments. McCoy is also flashing signs of the player Tennessee hoped he would be, pulling in 54 yards and a TD on four catches, averaging better than 14 yards per play and showing that he knows how to use his size in important moments.
ANTI-VENOM, AT LAST. Tennessee has rightfully earned a reputation, over the last forever of years, as a team which is absolutely snakebit. That isn’t to say that, under Heupel, they haven’t pulled out some impressive moments, but Tennessee is supposed to beat Kentucky, regardless of their talent or success. Tennessee, moreso, seems to find a way to let games slip out of reach in creative and heartbreaking ways. But, under Heupel, that culture seems to be more focused on staying positive and just taking it all one snap at a time. That was never more on-display than Saturday afternoon in Pittsburgh. How many times has Tennessee come out against a good opponent, gotten hit in the mouth early, and played scared the rest of the day? A lot. Then, how many times have we seen Tennessee fall apart late in winnable games because something strange didn’t go their way? Yes, also a lot. But against Pitt, Tennessee showed a poise that we haven’t seen on Rocky Top in a long time. Tennessee psychologically navigated a ton of setbacks and mistakes including sacks, drops, blocked punts, muffed punts, a crazy long TD run by Pitt and a series of mistakes (more on this in the Bad) almost’s (more on this next) by the defensive secondary. And, unlike previous incarnations of this team, Heupel’s 2022 Vols kept the machine rolling forward, play after play, and were rewarded with a signature win.
PRESSURE FROM THE SECONDARY. Simply put, DB Kamal Hadden is the best thing happening in the defensive secondary, and we absolutely expect this to become more and more vivid. But we are also seeing some real proficiency in sending factions of the secondary to pressure the QB with success. If Tennessee can continue working on pulling down some potential interceptions, this back end, led by Hadden, is going to make a huge difference in SEC play.
HEUP’D UP. Even though head coach Josh Heupel has a strict “good vibes only” culture in and around Tennessee Football, he’s still got a reputation for being fairly even-keel and measured with how he interacts in public. That was not the case after Tennessee secured its OT win on Saturday, with Heupel running around the field jumping on his celebrating players and smiling ear to ear. It’s good to see this coach not just experiencing success, which he’s no stranger to, but really enjoying it. We expect this isn’t the last time we’ll see him let down his guard in 2022.
THE BAD:
Tennessee vs The Run. The Vols have to use the next two weeks to figure out what’s going to happen against the run, to put it plainly. Though Tennessee experienced some success in Wk1 against the run, holding lowly Ball State to 74 yards, watching the game felt different. As often as the Cardinals went to RB Carsen Steele, it seemed to require a lot of effort to contain him. Enter Pitt’s Israel Abanikanda, who gashed Tennessee for 154 yards and an epic 72-yard touchdown. The Vols did eventually contain him, but if Tennessee is hoping to be competitive against SEC competition, there must be a vibe shift in the approach to stopping the run. It’s possible that Tennessee has been willing to sacrifice some rushing yards to release pass rushers, where Tennessee has experienced enormous success against Pitt. I don’t know if I believe that’s true, but you hope.
Pitt’s Kicker. If it weren’t for TWO missed FG’s, this would’ve been a totally different game. Even the second half’s made FG by Pitt seemed to only go in bc it was partially blocked (more on this next). Freshman or not, you’re a college kicker. At least hit the net. Also, thanks.
Warren Burrell. This veteran DB plays really hard and has played a lot of football with the power T on his helmet. His heart seems to be in the game. But something is simply not working. He got picked on against Purdue to end the 2021 season, and has, in the first two games, been a liability for the Vols D in 2022. I don’t have the metrics, but the eyeball test suggests that quarterbacks are keying on him consistently, and he simply isn’t hacking it, thus far. His performance and its importance to the success of Tennessee’s defense in 2022 has been a narrative all summer, and we’re now seeing why. With other players like Kamal Hadden and Tamarion McDonald ahead of schedule, you’ve got to wonder how long Tim Banks is going to let this situation evolve before adjustments are made. Credit must be given where it’s due: Burrell very nearly blocked a FG in the second half, after two consecutive misses by Pitt. But, somehow, the angle the Burrell blocked it seemed to straighten the kick’s path and it was good. Hopefully, this DB will catch a break moving forward before he loses his well-earned spot as a defensive mainstay.
Jaylen Wright. It is extremely frustrating to say this two weeks in a row, but we’ve got to pay attention to Jaylen Wright’s evolution, week to week. This is the second week in a row with a fumble and, more importantly, he seemed really lost on the sidelines afterward. Confoundingly, between the fumbles and the silly unsportsmanlike conduct penalty last week, Wright continues to lead Tennessee’s rushing attack and by a wide margin. Neither week was particularly successful for the RB room, but Wright is leading all other rushers with 137 yards on 23 attempts. Tennessee was lucky to get him back from his quadricep injury, but coaches need to use the upcoming Akron game to iron out this talented runner’s ball control and mental demeanor before Tennessee begins consequent, difficult Saturdays against SEC talent. Jabari Small still runs like the leader of this room, but if Wright is the producer, then this situation must be stabilized as quickly as possible.
Special Teams. Tennessee’s special teams very nearly gave this game to Pitt. Between the muffed punt by Flowers, the blocked punt, and a FG that seemed to get blocked only enough to straighten the kick and make it successful for Pitt, the Tennessee staff has it’s work cut out for them to tighten this group before Florida comes to town in two weeks.
THE WEIRD
Taste of The Town. During the first half, viewers were assaulted by one of the weirdest and most awkwardly half-hearted “Taste of the Town” segments in recent memory, highlighted by several clearly-confused TV staffers being forced to walk on camera and try to wrangle a plate of pizza from the analysts. It’s cool that local spots get a mention on national TV, but maybe we could just plan it out? No disrespect to Serafino’s, who seem to serve Italian food and something called “greens and beans” in Pittsburgh, but maybe these paid spots can just be planned out? I hope Door Dash and Serafino’s get their money back.
Pat Narduzzi. I don’t know Pat Narduzzi. But this sports writer does know a few people who “totally suck” and are “no fun at parties.” So I think it’s, in all probability, fair to say that Pat Narduzzi is, well, no fun at parties. Is he a great defensive mind? Yeah, fine. But that doesn’t make you cool. So, as a football analyst, my analysis of Pat Narduzzi is that he is a dude who is “probably no fun at parties.”
STAT OF THE GAME: 415 yards of offense from Pitt. This stat is worrisome from a few different angles. For starters, this is a lot of production for a team known for its defense, which just lost both its best receiver and legendary QB. Moreso, Tennessee’s performance on defense felt, many times, like domination. Tennessee’s pass rush dismantled two Pitt quarterbacks…and still managed to give up 400+ yards, mostly through the air. 415 also jumps out at you because it is only ONE yard less than Tennessee’s total yardage on the day. Granted, this was a really well-coached, talented defense and 416 is a lot of production any day of the week…unless you’re Tennessee, which hangs its hat on putting up insane offensive stats and “do just enough” defense. The simple fact is: both Ball State and Pitt have given a blueprint to better teams, and if this is Tennessee’s defensive identity, then the Vols absolutely must produce up to their virtuosic standard on offense. Things get real in two weeks.
THE PIVOT:
Tennessee is 2-0 and has a signature victory against a gritty, 17th-ranked Pitt team with a coach who is probably no fun at parties on the road. That’s major progress for Heupel and company. Now the question is how high can they climb, and can they turn that progress into signature SEC wins? I am not insinuating that Tennessee should overlook Akron, who it plays at 7pm next week…I’m not insinuating it…I’m straight-up insisting on it. The Akron Zips just lost to Michigan State 52-0. So, reckless or not, let’s just live in the real world: Tennessee is going to beat Akron and they should literally focus on Florida. Past Tennessee teams were not disciplined or talented enough to overlook games like this, but the 2022 team is both disciplined and talented enough, and they should pivot to Florida now. Now. The Vols’ SEC opener, in Neyland against Florida, especially in the wake of their loss to Kentucky in the Swamp, will be an absolute madhouse. Tennessee has the world to gain. Pivot to Florida now. If Danny White and Josh Heupel came to Tennessee to win titles and break the curses Tennessee Football has suffered LO THESE MANY YEARS, it starts with this Florida game, this year. Sorry, Akron.
