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    • Tennessee defense crushed Gators, but Vols can’t beat Alabama like this
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    Tennessee defense crushed Gators, but Vols can’t beat Alabama like this

    Vaseline Posted on

    Even after a grueling 23-17 overtime victory over Florida, Tennessee football coach Josh Heupel made a deadpan joke that everyone at Neyland Stadium would have understood.

    The Vols converted a fourth-and-1 play from their own 10-yard line just before halftime by deploying defensive linemen Jaxson Moi and Nathan Robinson as blockers to clear a path for running back DeSean Bishop.

    After the match, Heupel was asked about that huge gamble.

    “I talked to (defensive coordinator Tim Banks). And I just felt like we had to do something to keep Florida off the field,” Heupel said of the decision. “So I brought in some defensive guys.”

    The punchline was subtle, but spoke to a larger truth.

    UT’s offense had to borrow players from the elite defense to get a key first. And it used those defensive linemen in the same package again in the third quarter to finally score a touchdown.

    UT’s floundering offense needs all the help it can get. And it’s fortunate that we have a defense that can do its part and then some.

    Give the Vols (5-1, 2-1 SEC) credit for recognizing that gap. Now they have to do something to close it out, especially with rival Alabama (5-1, 2-1) coming to Neyland Stadium on Saturday (3:30 p.m. ET, ABC).

    How good is Tennessee’s defense? How bad is a violation?

    UT’s defense is winning games, and offense is (almost) losing them.

    A week ago, the offense actually lost the game at Arkansas. The inept play nearly lost another to Florida.

    The Vols defense is playing at a historically excellent level. It has held its first six opponents to fewer than 20 points for the first time since 1969.

    The Vols offense is swinging. It failed to score in the first half for the second straight game, which had never happened in Heupel’s previous three seasons at UT. And in each of the last three games, fewer than 300 yards have been gained.

    “Offense is not playing well at all,” said Heupel, stating the obvious. “Defensively it was an elite performance. There are so many things they did at a high level that kept us in the game.”

    Josh Heupel can’t exactly pinpoint the problem on offense

    Admitting that a big problem exists may be the beginning of solving it.

    Heupel couldn’t appreciate how bad his offense was in the nail-biting win over Florida. But he also seemed at a loss for words when asked why his offense has taken so much effort.

    “It’s not just the passing game. It’s also the run game,” Heupel said. “Missed assignments, fundamentals, technique. Like the guys are open, (but) we’re not succeeding. Boys are open, (but) we are under pressure. It’s everyone’s turn. At some point we have to say we’re going to man up and do our job and run this thing the way it’s capable of.

    The pass protection is broken, including the offensive line, running backs and tight ends. Penalties and loss of possession have broken up the journeys.

    And quarterback Nico Iamaleava hasn’t responded well to the pressure. He has scored six goals in UT’s four games against power conference schools.

    “(The defense is) doing a great job,” Iamaleava said. “We need to complement them better.”

    Think about that statement. An offense by Josh Heupel now only hopes to “supplement” the defense.

    It’s a significant drop in expectations for an offense that’s used to scoring 50 points in any given game.

    Remember, Alabama’s last visit to Neyland Stadium yielded a 52-49 victory for the Vols in a shootout in 2022. This team doesn’t appear to have the firepower for such a shootout.

    Despite the inequality, defense is not a point finger

    The bad news is that UT currently has a lopsided way of winning games.

    The good news is that it can still win that way. And there don’t seem to be any rifts in the locker room, despite the difference between attack and defense.

    “We play as one team, and that’s what drives our confidence,” defensive end James Pearce said. “We get eleven hats for the ball and we give the ball back to Nico.”

    The Vols know there is a narrative that the defense carries the team, and that is true. But defensive players have been noticeably protective of their teammates on offense.

    Dylan Sampson rushed for 112 yards and two touchdowns against Florida as one of the few bright spots on offense. When his performance came up during the post-game press conference, defensive lineman Bryson Eason and linebacker Arion Carter interrupted each other only to compliment Sampson.

    OVERREACTIONS TO VOLS WIN Dylan Sampson should be in Heisman talk

    “He was fantastic,” Carter said.

    “Great,” Eason interjected. “The whole game he said he had us. And he had us.”

    But it will take more than camaraderie for the Vols to play a full game against Alabama. The crime has a week to discover what it is missing.

    Adam Sparks is the Tennessee football reporter. E-mail [email protected]. X, formerly known as Twitter@AdamSparks. Support strong local journalism by subscribing knoxnews.com/subscribe.

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