The Tennessee Vols lost by 25 points to the Ohio State Buckeyes last Saturday night in Columbus in the first round of the College Football Playoff for a myriad of reasons. 

One of the biggest reasons, however, that Ohio State left the Horseshoe with a 42-17 win was because of the Buckeyes' strong defensive performance. 

Ohio State seemingly had an answer for everything the Vols tried offensively. Whether it was in the pass game or the run game, the Buckeyes effectively shut Tennessee's offense down for most of the night. 

A big reason why that was the case was because Ohio State received the exact looks from the Vols' offense that they were expecting based on what they saw on film from Tennessee. 

Ohio State safety Lathan Ransom said during an appearance on The Bobby Carpenter Show that the Buckeyes' coaches did a great job of preparing OSU's players for the looks/plays that Tennessee presented. 

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"We had three weeks to prepare (for Tennessee)," said Ransom. "Hats off to the coaches. It's easy to play fast when you've been shown so many looks, you've been shown what's expected from them. And that's why we were able to play fast and react fast because we had seen it three weeks in a row. Our coaches came up with a great game plan. Our scouts did a great job for the last three weeks [of] showing us the looks, the exact thing that we thought Tennessee was going to do." 

Ransom pointed out an example of the Buckeyes knowing what was coming based on the look from the Vols. 

Early in the third quarter, the Vols ran an option play on third-and-seven. Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava pitched the ball to running back Peyton Lewis and for a split second it looked like the play was going to pick up some positive yardage. 

Ransom, however, read the play perfectly because he already knew it was coming based on the defensive look the Buckeyes were in and the alignment of the Vols' offense. 

"We actually had, I don't know how Coach (Jim) Knowles knew this, if we showed a certain look, we had an idea that they were going to check to speed option," said Ransom. "And if it was to the field, it was going to be Caleb (Downs) that was going to take the pitch and if it was to the boundary, it was gonna be me. And we got that exact look on third down, we knew they were going to do it….there's not a better feeling when you see that look in scout and then you see that exact look in the game." 

Tennessee's predictability on offense this season has been a big topic of discussion among Vols fans. 

It's something that former Tennessee tight end Jacob Warren, who played under Josh Heupel for three seasons, pointed out earlier this season. 

"This family of offense has expanded so much," said Warren in November. "[Jeff] Lebby is running it at Mississippi State. They're running it at Ole Miss. It's happening at a lot of different places so people are seeing it more. People are seeing our team run it more. And I think it's just getting to the point where people are starting to kind of understand what it is, understanding how to break it down. And that's on the coaches, that's on the players to adapt and be able to continue to push that needle and stay ahead of the curve and continue to have success with this kind of offense."

Arkansas defensive coordinator Travis Williams made some similar comments after the Razorbacks' win against Tennessee in early October. 

"When I go home, I'm watching a lot of tape by myself," said Williams. "That's kind of when I get my thoughts and I said you know what, every time they (Tennessee) got this look, they did this. And it's [going] back to 2021, 2022, just watching every team that they played and trying to get a beat on, you know, what are their identities once they see a certain look. And I saw it, I said the whole goal is, okay, if we can get them to 12 personnel then perfect, we got them. We got them where we want them. You know, kinda playing our type of game. They got in 12 personnel so we switched personnel to fit that." 

At this point, it seems safe to say that Tennessee needs to do some serious self-scouting this offseason, because it's clear that teams are no longer being caught off guard by anything the Vols are doing offensively. 

Poor execution is still the biggest reason for the Vols' offensive struggles in 2024, but being predictable on offense certainly makes life easier on opposing defenses. 

Paul Finebaum takes an unfair and unnecessary shot at Tennessee Vols QB Nico Iamaleava

Rough night for the Vols