Tennessee didn’t need a perfect performance to pull away from Georgia Tech.
The Volunteers overcame a blocked punt for a touchdown, stretches of defensive vulnerability and some costly penalties to beat the Yellow Jackets 45-24.
Tennessee leaned heavily on its running game, while its defense repeatedly found ways to end promising Georgia Tech possessions.
Here are three takeaways from the Vols’ win.
Photo By Andrew Ferguson/Tennessee Athletics
1. DeSean Bishop made Tennessee’s commitment to the run pay off
DeSean Bishop has talked about the importance of being your own blocker.
Against Georgia Tech, he showed exactly what he meant.
Bishop broke through several would-be tacklers – and lost a shoe in the process – for a 33-yard gain on Tennessee’s opening possession. The run helped set up Faizon Brandon’s 25-yard touchdown pass to Ethan Davis three plays into the game.
But Bishop’s biggest stretch came after halftime.
Tennessee gave him six carries on its opening drive of the third quarter, including three straight to finish it.
Bishop gained 11 yards. Then 10. Then 17 yards for the touchdown.
The offensive line opened a clean lane on the scoring run, but Bishop took care of the final defender. He gave a quick move to his right, forcing the defender to commit as Mike Matthews secured the final block. Bishop cut back and went untouched into the end zone.
The touchdown gave Tennessee a 31-10 lead and pushed Bishop to 94 yards on just 11 carries.
He nearly added another explosive run in the fourth quarter, hurdling a defender before racing nearly 40 yards downfield. A holding penalty on freshman tight end Da’Saahn Brame erased it.
Tennessee’s commitment to the ground game was unmistakable. The Vols reached their 40th rushing attempt in the fourth quarter while Brandon had attempted just 10 passes.
Bishop gave them plenty of reason to keep feeding it.
2. Tennessee’s defense bent, then found ways to end drives
Georgia Tech moved the football.
Tennessee made the plays that ended possessions.
The Vols pressured Alberto Mendoza from the opening drive, with Arion Carter frequently attacking off the edge and Mariyon Dye recording an early sack.
But Mendoza handled much of that pressure well, and Tennessee’s coverage surrendered opportunities underneath and downfield.
Then the takeaways arrived.
De’Joun Lane read Mendoza in the second quarter, jumped the route and returned the interception 41 yards for Tennessee’s first defensive touchdown of the season.
Jeremiah Telander added another interception later in the half as Georgia Tech was driving. It was just the second interception of Telander’s career.
The Yellow Jackets began finding more success after halftime.
Justice Haynes scored in the third quarter, and Georgia Tech followed with another threatening possession that included five explosive gains when including a 15-yard defensive pass interference penalty.
Tennessee needed a drive-ending play.
It got three in succession.
Telander shot into the backfield for a seven-yard sack. Amaree Campbell followed with a tackle for loss.
Then, facing fourth-and-goal, Qua Moss jumped the pass at the goal line and forced a turnover on downs.
It was the response Tennessee needed after consecutive drives in which Georgia Tech had increasingly found openings.
The Vols weren’t impenetrable defensively. But when possessions reached their most consequential moments, Tennessee repeatedly had someone make a play.
3. Brandon didn’t have to carry Tennessee and that might be the point
Faizon Brandon’s second career start looked considerably different from his first.
Against Furman, Brandon threw five touchdown passes.
Against Georgia Tech, Tennessee put the game largely in the hands of its rushing attack.
That didn’t make Brandon irrelevant.
The freshman repeatedly showed value when plays stopped going according to plan.
Brandon bounced off pressure early and bought enough time to throw the football away. After Georgia Tech blocked a punt and took a 10-7 lead, he responded on third-and-12 by finding Radarious Jackson for a 45-yard completion down the boundary.
Jackson continued making his case for a larger role later, adjusting back toward another Brandon pass and diving for an eight-yard reception in the third quarter.
Brandon also escaped pressure to convert a fourth-and-2 with his legs and later worked through his progressions to find Bishop for 15 yards. In the fourth quarter, he rolled away from another collapsing pocket and scrambled for a first down near midfield.
There were freshman moments, too.
Tennessee had to burn a timeout in the third quarter when the offense appeared confused before the snap. Brandon had passes deflected at the line and occasionally held the football longer than he could afford.
But Tennessee didn’t ask its true freshman quarterback to win the game by throwing it 30 or 40 times.
It didn’t need to.
The Vols established the run and allowed Brandon to supplement it with timely throws and his legs.
For a quarterback making his first road start, that proved to be enough in a 45-24 Tennessee win.
