Looking back …
What’s not to like about Texas?
Glad you asked. The Longhorns are arrogant. They get it naturally. It is built in. Texas was a pain in the old Southwest Conference. It thought it owned the world and those in it should bow down.
Texas against Tennessee misbehaved on the field and copied the Alabama cigar celebration after one hard-earned three-point victory over the Vols. The cigars were planned. Somebody had those boxes ready. This is cockiness personified.
Texas is not Alabama and never will be.
Maybe Texas will go undefeated this season. Florida and Ole Miss must go to Austin. The Longhorns will play at LSU. It will be awkward pulling for both to lose.
OK with me if Arch wins the Heisman. If that happens, it will be more of a tribute to his famous family name than how well he reads disguised coverage.
Will Muschamp leads a talented, aggressive Texas defense that only lacks discipline. Somebody, maybe university president Jim Davis, needs to stand Collin Simmons in a corner and have him repeat a hundred times “I was a very bad boy.”
Had I been the referee, Simmons would have had half the afternoon off. This may come as a shock to some but even in this crazy world, there are still civility limits out there somewhere. Colin crossed that line.
If a Volunteer did what Simmons did, the player and Josh Heupel would have been in Donde Plowman’s office soon after they showered.
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Pro Football Focus said four Tennessee offensive linemen performed at the “acceptable” level for reserves. Nobody graded up to starter standards, much less multi-million-dollar stardom.
Center Sam Pendleton, guard Sham Umarov and tackle Jesse Perry played at the “to be replaced” level. Perry had the lowest grade of his career. I’m not convinced he was worst at what he does. Tight ends did not block very well.
I am convinced that the offensive line helped lose the game. Faizon Brandon made an assortment of freshman mistakes but there weren’t many clean pockets on pass plays. He was pressured some 20 times. Too often he was running for his life.
Wide receivers could have helped Brandon by finding open spots when he had to flee what was supposed to be a protected pocket.
Tennessee’s anemic ground attack was another product of the offensive line.
End of game switched from high drama to chaos. An 80-yard drive, the late touchdown, an outside kick and Arion Carter’s recovery gave the Vols a fighting chance to tie or win.
The frantic final seven plays took it away. As Heupel said, there was enough blame to go around.
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Looking ahead…
Auburn, touchdown underdog, is a very important game for Tennessee. We’ll have to wait until Saturday to see if the Volunteer offense picks up the scattered pieces and puts them back together again.
The incoming Tigers figure to be a different test for the defense. Auburn coach Alex Golesh, often accused of being very smart, runs some up-tempo stuff similar to what made the Heupel offense famous at Central Florida and in his early seasons at Tennessee.
In case you have forgotten, Golesh was the Vols’ offensive coordinator in 2021 when the team set eight records including points (511), total offensive yards (6,174), touchdowns (67), first downs (316), fewest interceptions lost (3) and passing efficiency (167.10).
Tennessee improved its national standing in scoring offense from 108th to seventh.
In 2022, Golesh helped the Volunteers to their best offense in school history, No. 1 with 46.1 points per game. Of course, Heupel was the driving force. Yes, Hendon Hooker had something to do with all that.
Without Golesh and a select QB, Heupel has little by little slowed the pace.
Jim Knowles is doing good work with Tennessee’s defense. We are about to see how the Vols fare against a quarterback who runs. Byrum Brown leads Auburn in passing and rushing yards even with sack discounts. He has thrown for six touchdowns and rushed for three. Beware.
Ex-Vol Chas Nimrod is a co-leader among Auburn receivers (22 catches, 240 yards, two scores).
Tennessee and Auburn have 3-1 records. Auburn defeated Baylor, 17-16, in Atlanta. In three straight in Auburn, the Tigers beat Southern Miss, 43-8, lost to Florida, 44-39, and toppled Vanderbilt, 21-15.
Hold onto your tickets, football is about to get very interesting.
Marvin West welcomes comments and questions from readers at marvinwest75@gmail.com Read more westwords. Follow KnoxTNToday on Facebook, Instagram, X and LinkedIn. Get all KnoxTNToday articles in one place with our free newsletter.
