Instant Thoughts: Four Biggest Takeaways From Tennessee-Pitt
QB Play
Joe Milton was sporadic before leaving the contest with a leg injury, and Hendon Hooker came in to replace him. Hooker had some bright spots, and he had some struggles. Hooker did enough to allow the Vols to keep the Vols in the game despite falling down two scores. Milton had one long run, but Hooker looked like the more natural runner. He extended plays, and he had one crucial run on third and long to extend a drive that led to a touchdown.
Now, Tennessee faces the question of what do you do next at the position? Do you roll with Hooker? How healthy is Milton? Where does Harrison Bailey fit into the equation? You have one week to tune things up before going to before heading South to Gainesville.
Play Calling
In all three phases, Tennessee had a really good day here. Josh Heupel's offense ran multiple wrinkle plays, including involving the tight end. Yes, Tennessee has tight ends, and they were a weapon in today's game. I felt like Heupel really schemed Pitt up early, but Milton was not able to connect. There was a lot of familiarity with Pitt's personnel and Heupel capitalized on that.
Defensively, yes, they gave up points, but Tim Banks designed some terrific calls, and he had is guys in the right position more times than not. That does not mean they always made the play, but he had them where they should have been. The defensive bent a lot, but getting off the field in the red area allowed the Vols to be in this contest, and they kept Pitt out of the end zone despite being pinned back to start several drives.
Mike Ekeler drew up a great scheme to block Pitt's first punt of the game, and he had his special teams unit in a great position all day long.
Unnecessary Penalties
If Tennessee coaches did so well, then how did they lose, right? Well, undisciplined, unnecessary penalties crippled the Vols efforts at times today. Either extending drive or ruining scoring threats, Tennessee's multiple penalties played a major part in this game today.It is hard for any team to overcome 13 penalties for 134 yards when you are playing an experienced team like Tennessee did today.
Despite Loss Vols Show Promise
At multiple times today, you could feel this game slipping away from Tennessee, but this team never quit. They scraped and clawed their way back into it, and Josh Heupel's style of play was on full display today. This was a well-coached Pitt team with multiple veterans on each side of the ball. This is a young team, but they did not quit despite being down multiple key players, including starting quarterback Joe Milton. This is a drastic improvement from the Jerem Pruitt tenure.
