John Adams: Preseason hype Vols finally show up at Battle at Bristol
BRISTOL — Finally, in the second quarter Saturday night, Tennessee fans got the first glimpse of the Vols they expected to see in preseason.
The team that began the season ranked in the top 10 and favored to win the SEC East emerged with the suddenness of a NASCAR lead change at the Bristol Motor Speedway.
The Vols blew past Virginia Tech with 24 second-quarter points en route to a 45-24 victory before a record-setting college football crowd of 156,990.
Until the game turned topsy-turvy, UT looked even more inept than it did in a 20-13 overtime victory over 20-point underdog Appalachian State nine days earlier in the season opener at Neyland Stadium.
Virginia Tech piled up 204 first-quarter yards, held UT to 28 and took what seemed like a commanding 14-0 lead based on the dominance with which it was achieved.
The turnaround wasn’t all about Tennessee, though. Virginia Tech was an unwilling co-partner.
In fact, the Vols had little to do with the momentum-changing play. A wayward Hokie in motion collided with quarterback Jerod Evans, who fumbled the ball over to Tennessee on the first play of the second quarter.
Once the Hokies faltered, they never regained their footing. The Vols capitalized with a vengeance, stealing the momentum and the lead, which they increased to 24-14 by halftime.
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The reversal began at the line of scrimmage — where UT’s pass rush intensified and its offensive line began making headway — and extended into the coaching box.
Tennessee offensive coordinator Mike DeBord made great use of quarterback Joshua Dobbs as a runner and passer in the quarter. Dobbs passed for two touchdowns and ran for another in the second-quarter surge.
But you couldn’t ignore the Hokies’ contributions — in both the second quarter and the second half.
They lost five fumbles and repeatedly committed costly penalties, two of which sabotaged potential drives and another that set up a Tennessee field goal.
Credit the UT defense with withstanding Virginia Tech’s first-quarter flurry and taking control of the game thereafter. And give Dobbs his due for often playing like an All-SEC quarterback.
He followed up his dazzling second quarter by scrambling away from a Virginia Tech pass rush on a 23-yard, third-quarter scoring pass to Alvin Kamara. He added another touchdown on a 27-yard run with 6:45 left in the game.
However, for all Tennessee did right in a three-touchdown victory, this hardly was a complete performance.
The offensive line remains a work in progress. In the second quarter, UT benched center Coleman Thomas, moved starting guard Dylan Wiesman to center and inserted backup guard Jack Jones in the lineup. Thomas re-entered the game later in the second quarter.
In the third quarter, the Vols shifted Brett Kendrick from right to left tackle, moved Thomas to right tackle and took redshirt freshman Drew Richmond out of the game.
Tennessee also has to be concerned about back-to-back lethargic starts. It might not survive them against a better or less mistake-prone opponent.
Nonetheless, in the first two weeks of an unpredictable season, Tennessee has done what so many other nationally ranked teams haven’t.
It has kept winning.