Tennessee held Texas A&M to 7 points without a sack, and Jim Knowles’ plan for Marcel Reed helps explain why
The Vols shut down the two-way threat, and it’s something that a former Vols player noticed and praised.
The Tennessee Vols came to College Station and took care of business in a big way, defeating the Texas A&M Aggies 22-7 on Saturday afternoon.
It’s a game that the sportsbooks had pegged as a very tight contest, with Tennessee going from a 2.5-point favorite to just a point favorite on game day. The Vols’ travel issues could have played into that, but regardless, the experts saw a four-quarter dogfight taking shape.
And the contest was a tight one for most of the way before Tennessee slammed the door in the fourth quarter. But while Tennessee’s offense struggled for three quarters, it was Jim Knowles’ defense that continued its elite level of play we’ve seen all season.
The Vols’ defense allowed one scoring drive in the second quarter. Beyond that, A&M went three- or four-and-out eight times and threw interceptions on the other two possessions. That’s pretty remarkable.
Former Tennessee QB Jonathan Crompton praises Jim Knowles’ plan to spy Texas A&M QB Marcel Reed
And as former Tennessee QB Jonathan Crompton said on the A to Z Sports postgame show, Knowles deserves a lot of credit for game planning for Texas A&M QB Marcel Reed’s scrambling ability and keeping him from making big plays with his legs.
“The QB spy today, for five years, we’ve really had trouble with mobile quarterbacks,” Crompton said. “That’s been our Achilles heel. We finally got a coordinator here that will run QB spy, but it’s not the same guy each time. So, it’s hard for an o line or a quarterback to pick up who it is. So, I’m really impressed with that.”
Keeping Reed in the pocket and forcing him to throw was the plan, and Reed simply couldn’t get anything going with his arm, finishing 9/22 passing for 71 yards with an interception. He didn’t get sacked, but he didn’t have a single rushing yard, and the latter is remarkable and a big reason Texas A&M could get nothing going when their passing game struggled.
Tennessee’s defense has faced plenty of talented offenses this year, and each time, Jim Knowles has had his unit playing at a high level and given the Vols the chance to win every game they’ve been in. And that’s why Tennessee will be a dangerous team no matter who they face the rest of the season.
