London Vol
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GAME 9 - OKLAHOMA
In 1990 Desert Storm was enacted to remove Saddam Hussain from Kuwait, this was successfully achieved with very little loss of life. At the time many people felt that to complete the job they should remove Saddam Hussain himself, but he wasn’t. Then 11 years later the job had to be finished with far bigger consequences, some of which we are still suffering from the fallout today. Now nobody died last night as it was a football game, sometimes I need to remind myself of that, but to explain the result it might be wise to state an old Maxim, one rule that never changes in all sports and that is “if you have the opposition down, you must put them away otherwise they will make you pay” It would not have been unrealistic that the Vols could have had a three score lead by half time such was their dominance, yet Tennessee found themselves trailing by 6 thanks to a multitude of mistakes and ultimately the Vols paid for this later on.
QUARTERBACKS C
When Joey Aguilar posts 393 yards 3 TDs and 2 INTs you would expect a much high grade but in truth Joey finally showed us why “the book on him at APP State suggested he can implode”. It seemed that the fumble on the very first play and the ill-advised INTs affected his confidence as the game moved on. Those mistakes were more frustrating because I was just complimenting him on taking what was offered with some “underneath” passes and there was no need to risk putting the ball in harm’s way but that’s the nature of the beast. But I am still a big fan and it should be noted that for the second successive week he was only a few cents short of 400 Bucks (I think that’s your currency), show those statistics to a UCLA fan.
RUNNING BACKS E
63 net yards from 38 carries consigns you to almost certain defeat. Josh Huepel continued to juggle the backs hoping to find a hot hand but having an O`Line being overwhelmed and play calls asking them to run up the middle into a wall, the net result was inevitable.
WIDE RECEIVERS A -
A few weeks ago we were all commenting on how many drops this unit has, but the last couple of weeks they have shone through and last night I thought it was their best night. Mike Matthews 76 yards, Braylon Staley 75 yards and Chis Brazzell II 68 yards are make a convincing argument that they might be the best triple WR threat in the country. The only slight criticism was a drop by Staley for a walk in TD near the end, although it would probably not have altered the outcome. Also on both INTs I would have liked to see the WRs try to break up the errant pass, sometimes it is important to break up the pass as well as complete it.
TIGHT ENDS C
Ethan Davis built on last week’s performance with 5 catches for 62 yards, but perversely Miles Kitselman seemingly is going the other way. His failure to break up the Interception going 71 yards was as bigger game changing moment as the pick 6 against Alabama. Sometimes stop trying to punch the ball out, just tackle the guy or even facemask him for a measly 15-yard penalty. There was no evidence seen up to this point to think they were going 70 yards for a TD.
OFFENSIVE LINE E -
They have regressed recently and last night they were pretty well “owned” by the Oklahoma Defense who proved that they are elite. I don’t know if it is a result of being banged up, or a long season starting to take its toll or the recent changing of the line-up mid game affecting the chemistry, but it resulted in no running game and Aguilar being Sacked 4 times and harassed on numerous occasions.
DEFENSIVE LINE C +
Oh, how typical of Tennessee, finally the D`Line stiffened up and then the O`Line implodes. But with so many injuries at Defensive End it was not surprising that there was no pass rush last night. Tennessee doesn’t have the depth at DT as they did last season but Byson Eason and Dominic Bailey have been stalwarts all season long and again they put in long shifts when a breather would have been most welcome.
LINEBACKERS B -
I thought Edwin Spillman with 9 tackles and an INT led this department well again. Sometimes though players need to be protected from themselves and I am thinking of you Arion Carter whom was gladiatorial by trying to “go” for the team but he was clearly a liability. Jadon Perlotte had a couple of questionable moments, but he is a “good one” and next season we will see the benefits from taking these lumps this season.
DEFENSIVE BACKS A
Given the time Mateer had to pick apart the secondary the CBs were excellent. We know how good Colton Hood is, but Ty Redmond played really well and next season Rickey Gibson and Redmond will do very nicely on the boundary. Edrees Farooq had some more encouraging moments and is starting to look like a good find. But I barely saw No 23 Boo Carter again other than dropping a punt, I am sure when he transfers, stories will start to surface about what’s going on, or more probably, not going on.
COACHING C -
A great game plan to start and the human errors that stopped the game being sewn up early on were not down to them. But I will lay at their door some strange time management strategies at the end of the game. When Aguilar ran out of bounds with 2:07 on the clock Huepel seemed to think the clock should stop, even I know that the clock now stops only IN the last 2 minutes, this unnecessary loss of a time out changed a number of scenarios. Also why doesn’t the QB spike the ball, this would make all plays now 3 downs instead of 4 but save about 30 precious seconds. Finally I would have kicked long on the first onside kick, 3 and out and the ball at the halfway line would have been ample opportunity to get in field goal range unless (and here’s the clue) we cant trust the kicker.
BIG MOMENTS – 71 YARDS and 37 YARDS
Obviously, the missed block, the sack, the fumble, the scoop and score for 71 yards was huge as Tennessee were about to go two scores up and Oklahoma would have been in big trouble. I have commented already on Kittleman’s actions, but I would like to add that I kept waiting for somebody to chase down the big guy and nobody ever appeared.
The Oklahoma kicker nailed 55, 55, 51 and 40 yard field goals and quite frankly didn’t look as if he was even going to miss any of them, but not so Max Gilbert. Now over the season his success rate is not too bad but when it is a big moment, he just isn’t clutch, and his 37-yard shank was one of those big moments.
We have all known this was a flawed team and never really a playoff contender (unless you play in the BIG10 against powerhouses like Purdue, Rutgers, Northwestern and Minnesota to pad your resume) the SEC is brutal and when you’re off your best game you lose. but this season has had far more good moments than bad although if we shut down now and lose to both FLA and VAND 7-5 will seem a disappointment. However, remove the monkey off our back with an away win in Gainesville and beat little brother then 9-3 will make 2025 a success.
GO VOLS
In 1990 Desert Storm was enacted to remove Saddam Hussain from Kuwait, this was successfully achieved with very little loss of life. At the time many people felt that to complete the job they should remove Saddam Hussain himself, but he wasn’t. Then 11 years later the job had to be finished with far bigger consequences, some of which we are still suffering from the fallout today. Now nobody died last night as it was a football game, sometimes I need to remind myself of that, but to explain the result it might be wise to state an old Maxim, one rule that never changes in all sports and that is “if you have the opposition down, you must put them away otherwise they will make you pay” It would not have been unrealistic that the Vols could have had a three score lead by half time such was their dominance, yet Tennessee found themselves trailing by 6 thanks to a multitude of mistakes and ultimately the Vols paid for this later on.
QUARTERBACKS C
When Joey Aguilar posts 393 yards 3 TDs and 2 INTs you would expect a much high grade but in truth Joey finally showed us why “the book on him at APP State suggested he can implode”. It seemed that the fumble on the very first play and the ill-advised INTs affected his confidence as the game moved on. Those mistakes were more frustrating because I was just complimenting him on taking what was offered with some “underneath” passes and there was no need to risk putting the ball in harm’s way but that’s the nature of the beast. But I am still a big fan and it should be noted that for the second successive week he was only a few cents short of 400 Bucks (I think that’s your currency), show those statistics to a UCLA fan.
RUNNING BACKS E
63 net yards from 38 carries consigns you to almost certain defeat. Josh Huepel continued to juggle the backs hoping to find a hot hand but having an O`Line being overwhelmed and play calls asking them to run up the middle into a wall, the net result was inevitable.
WIDE RECEIVERS A -
A few weeks ago we were all commenting on how many drops this unit has, but the last couple of weeks they have shone through and last night I thought it was their best night. Mike Matthews 76 yards, Braylon Staley 75 yards and Chis Brazzell II 68 yards are make a convincing argument that they might be the best triple WR threat in the country. The only slight criticism was a drop by Staley for a walk in TD near the end, although it would probably not have altered the outcome. Also on both INTs I would have liked to see the WRs try to break up the errant pass, sometimes it is important to break up the pass as well as complete it.
TIGHT ENDS C
Ethan Davis built on last week’s performance with 5 catches for 62 yards, but perversely Miles Kitselman seemingly is going the other way. His failure to break up the Interception going 71 yards was as bigger game changing moment as the pick 6 against Alabama. Sometimes stop trying to punch the ball out, just tackle the guy or even facemask him for a measly 15-yard penalty. There was no evidence seen up to this point to think they were going 70 yards for a TD.
OFFENSIVE LINE E -
They have regressed recently and last night they were pretty well “owned” by the Oklahoma Defense who proved that they are elite. I don’t know if it is a result of being banged up, or a long season starting to take its toll or the recent changing of the line-up mid game affecting the chemistry, but it resulted in no running game and Aguilar being Sacked 4 times and harassed on numerous occasions.
DEFENSIVE LINE C +
Oh, how typical of Tennessee, finally the D`Line stiffened up and then the O`Line implodes. But with so many injuries at Defensive End it was not surprising that there was no pass rush last night. Tennessee doesn’t have the depth at DT as they did last season but Byson Eason and Dominic Bailey have been stalwarts all season long and again they put in long shifts when a breather would have been most welcome.
LINEBACKERS B -
I thought Edwin Spillman with 9 tackles and an INT led this department well again. Sometimes though players need to be protected from themselves and I am thinking of you Arion Carter whom was gladiatorial by trying to “go” for the team but he was clearly a liability. Jadon Perlotte had a couple of questionable moments, but he is a “good one” and next season we will see the benefits from taking these lumps this season.
DEFENSIVE BACKS A
Given the time Mateer had to pick apart the secondary the CBs were excellent. We know how good Colton Hood is, but Ty Redmond played really well and next season Rickey Gibson and Redmond will do very nicely on the boundary. Edrees Farooq had some more encouraging moments and is starting to look like a good find. But I barely saw No 23 Boo Carter again other than dropping a punt, I am sure when he transfers, stories will start to surface about what’s going on, or more probably, not going on.
COACHING C -
A great game plan to start and the human errors that stopped the game being sewn up early on were not down to them. But I will lay at their door some strange time management strategies at the end of the game. When Aguilar ran out of bounds with 2:07 on the clock Huepel seemed to think the clock should stop, even I know that the clock now stops only IN the last 2 minutes, this unnecessary loss of a time out changed a number of scenarios. Also why doesn’t the QB spike the ball, this would make all plays now 3 downs instead of 4 but save about 30 precious seconds. Finally I would have kicked long on the first onside kick, 3 and out and the ball at the halfway line would have been ample opportunity to get in field goal range unless (and here’s the clue) we cant trust the kicker.
BIG MOMENTS – 71 YARDS and 37 YARDS
Obviously, the missed block, the sack, the fumble, the scoop and score for 71 yards was huge as Tennessee were about to go two scores up and Oklahoma would have been in big trouble. I have commented already on Kittleman’s actions, but I would like to add that I kept waiting for somebody to chase down the big guy and nobody ever appeared.
The Oklahoma kicker nailed 55, 55, 51 and 40 yard field goals and quite frankly didn’t look as if he was even going to miss any of them, but not so Max Gilbert. Now over the season his success rate is not too bad but when it is a big moment, he just isn’t clutch, and his 37-yard shank was one of those big moments.
We have all known this was a flawed team and never really a playoff contender (unless you play in the BIG10 against powerhouses like Purdue, Rutgers, Northwestern and Minnesota to pad your resume) the SEC is brutal and when you’re off your best game you lose. but this season has had far more good moments than bad although if we shut down now and lose to both FLA and VAND 7-5 will seem a disappointment. However, remove the monkey off our back with an away win in Gainesville and beat little brother then 9-3 will make 2025 a success.
GO VOLS
