Again, I'm glad I waited until Tuesday to voice my thoughts. Immediately following the game (or even Sunday morning) might have ellicited a rash of knee-jerk thoughts instead of putting together something rational and measured.
It certainly wasn't pretty in Knoxville, but here's what I summarize from it.
1) The see-saw: I use this metaphor because there are certainly two ways of viewing the game. The glass-half-full side would say that if Georgia could stop a fourth-down play, not fumble a kickoff, etc. then they likely could have made it 31-3 or 31-10 before halftime and completely changed the ballgame.
Instead, everything that could go wrong in the final few minutes of the first half did go wrong, and the Volunteers started mounting their comeback. And on top of all that, we were one dropped ball and a missed field goal away from tying the game back up (or winning it) inside of four minutes to play.
On the flip-side, glass-half-empty folks will tell you that two of our touchdowns came on a 70-yard (bobbled) punt return and a 96-yard fumble return. That's essentially a 21-point swing (7 freebies on the punt and a 14-point swing on the fumble).
It could have easily been 45-24 (or worse).
2) The offense: This side of the ball was immensely hampered when Nick Chubb was hurt on the first play from scrimmage.
Without the wrecking ball that wears the No. 27 jersey, the inside running game was essentially non-existant. Sure, Sony Michel and Keith Marshall are fine running backs, but they don't bring the bruising, between-the-tackles running ability that Chubb does.
The Volunteer defense had one less dimension to account for, and the Bulldog offense looked pedestrian.
This season could very well hinge on the adjustments the coaches make to life without Chubb.
3) Kickoff coverage: Once again, it was an issue.
The Vols didn't break any for touchdowns, but as I touched on earlier, it was one of the dominos that set the collapse in motion.
After taking a 24-3 lead, Evan Berry brought the ensuing kickoff back across the Georgia 40-yard line.
Decent coverage (or getting the kick deeper into the end zone) would have negated the eventual touchdown drive, since Tennessee likely would not have gone for it on fourth down twice, the first of which came near midfield on the first set of downs.
Get a stop, and it could very well be 31-3, with Tennessee essentially quitting, or possibly making a QB change.
But you know what really happened.
4) The look ahead: I'm hoping the odds-makers in Las Vegas know something I don't (like they did for South Carolina), because the betting lines opened with Georgia as a 16.5-point favorite over Missouri.
The Tigers (4-2, 1-2) are fresh off a 21-3 home loss to Florida, and have an offense that doesn't figure to be much of a threat.
Mizzou sports a pretty talented defense, so that should make things interesting, at the very least.
I suspect the Bulldogs will win, but in much the same fashion as they beat Vanderbilt. They won't take too many risks, knowing the defense is likely to be able to force some turnovers on the true-freshman-led offense on the other side.
I'm guessing it'll be low-scoring.
And Lord help us if the injuries keep piling up.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2015/10/342013/tuesday-morning-quarterback-tennessee