The Tennessee Vols fought hard across four quarters on Saturday against the No. 1 Texas Longhorns at Neyland Stadium. Tennessee was outstanding on one side of the ball, with Jim Knowles’ defense proving in its first real test to be the real deal. The Vols’ defense held Texas to 261 total yards and notched six sacks on the day. 

The other side of the ball, however, was a different story entirely.Tennessee’s vaunted run game, which came into the game ranking fourth nationally in yards per game, was completely shut down, totaling 70 yards on 44 carries. The game fell on the shoulders of true freshman quarterback Faizon Brandon, and he was unable to deliver, finishing 17-of-29 passing for 145 yards with a touchdown.

Brandon’s numbers don’t tell the whole story

Beyond the raw stats, it was the situation Brandon and the Tennessee offense were put in that was perhaps the most questionable and unfortunate part of the day for Vols fans. Josh Heupel’s play calling was, to put it mildly, iffy.

Tennessee’s passing game often involved Brandon dropping back five steps, scanning the field, and finding nothing. The run game involved too many inside runs that went absolutely nowhere against a Texas front that dominated from start to finish. The Longhorns totaled 10 sacks and absolutely swarmed and overwhelmed Tennessee’s offensive line, with future first-round pick Colin Simmons notching five of those sacks by himself.

Why didn’t Tennessee simplify the game plan?

That performance begged the question as to why Heupel did not try to simplify the game plan or alter it to get the ball into his playmakers’ hands in space. Why didn’t Tennessee utilize the quick passing game more? The screen game, bubble screens, trick plays, outside runs, and the option game were hardly utilized at all. A screen pass to Braylon Staley went for a first down in the second half, but beyond that, there wasn’t much as far as a simplified passing game getting the ball to playmakers in space.

When your young quarterback is making his first SEC start against the No. 1 team in the country and he’s struggling, you find ways to make it easier for him. The tape will likely show that Brandon missed open receivers down the field, but it was a continuing disaster to ask him to make any kind of moderate to deep drop when the pass rush was getting home on almost every passing down. Tennessee didn’t appear to adjust adequately, and it’s something the coaching staff is going to have to game plan for and change as the challenges continue in SEC play.

We’ll find out what changes, if any, Heupel makes game plan-wise next week in what should be a much more winnable game at home against the Auburn Tigers.