The Tennessee Volunteers were able to secure their first SEC victory of the season on Saturday night beating the South Carolina Gamecocks 41-20. The Vols showed up ready to avenge the loss suffered in Columbia last year, but the way in which the Vols won was unexpected. Tennessee ground up South Carolina with a dominant running game and a terrific defensive effort. The Vols dominated the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball and proved that the trenches are where games are won. The Vols still have some things to clean up going into the bye week, but a far-from-perfect performance resulting in a 21-point win is very impressive.

Two Positives

The Vols have the best running back room in the SEC, and I don’t think anyone else is close. Jaylen Wright, Jabari Small, and Dylan Sampson are all capable of breaking loose for huge gains, and each back brings a different skill set to attack the defense. Each back found the endzone against the Gamecocks while they gained a total of 231 yards on the ground combined. In order to be successful running the ball in the SEC you have to play more than one running back. The Vols are in a great position to lean on the running game throughout this SEC schedule since the carries can be split in a way that keeps each back fresh. That’s a luxury that most teams don’t have and with the return of Cooper Mays at center the sky is the limit for the Vol rushing attack.

The Vol defense Saturday night looked like a completely different unit. After the defense got blitzkrieged in Columbia last year Vol fans wanted Tim Banks ousted immediately. Tim Banks probably knew that if his unit got embarrassed by the Gamecocks again, he would’ve been firmly on the hot seat. Luckily for Tim Banks, his defense played tremendous Saturday night holding the Gamecocks to 20 points and 333 yards. The defensive line kept Spencer Rattler contained for most of the game only letting him scramble a few times and sacking the South Carolina signal caller 6 times. The secondary also played well, holding Xavier Legette to 4 catches for 18 yards with his longest reception of the day going for 32 yards on a fake punt when the defense wasn’t even on the field. The much-talked-about Kamal Hadden made what might have been the most important play of the game when he intercepted an errant pass from Rattler before taking it 28 yards to the house right before halftime. Holding the Gamecocks to 20 points is very impressive, but it should have been even less. A Joe Milton interception set up the Gamecocks’ first touchdown while the only other touchdown the Vol defense gave up was on a 75-yard run. This means that South Carolina didn’t take the ball the length of the field once on the Vol defense Saturday night which is a complete 180 from what happened in this contest last year. Tim Banks deserves a lot of praise for how the defense performed in this one, and it’s now up to him to figure out how to get this effort from his unit every game.

Two Negatives

Bru Mccoy sustained what looked to be a season-ending ankle injury in the second quarter. Bru Mccoy has done nothing but work hard and play his heart out for the Vols ever since he stepped on campus, so this injury is truly heartbreaking. Another receiver will have to step up as Mccoy was without a doubt the Vol’s best possession man on big third downs. Kaleb Webb and Chas Nimrod got most of the reps after Bru’s injury Saturday night with Donte Thornton being sidelined due to an injury. The bye week comes at a great time with the emergence of this situation since it gives the staff a chance to figure out who will fill the void on the outside. Prayers up to Bru and we will never forget the incredible catch to set up the Vol’s game-winning field goal against Alabama last year. Get well soon BRUUUUUUUUUUUUU.

Joe Milton still struggles to throw the ball downfield with any consistency. Now to be fair I have no clue what the defenses might be doing to prevent the deep shots, but what I do know is that Milton threw two interceptions and both of them were on downfield shots. Milton did complete one ball downfield against the Gamecocks, but it took an incredible catch from Squirrel White on a ball that could have been a touchdown if it was on target. Joe Milton did operate the offense well on Saturday night besides the interceptions, and in a way, interceptions aren’t the end of the world because it means Joe is taking a chance instead of waiting for receivers to be wide open. The Vols run game is good enough that Joe Milton does not need to throw for 300+ yards every game, but Milton still needs to hit the plays downfield when they are open. Milton also still might have been hurting from last week’s injury scare so all in all it’s hard to complain much about his performance considering the Vols put up 34 points on offense.

The Vols finally showcased their statistical strengths against a decent opponent as the run game dominated and the defensive line wreaked havoc all game long. The Vols enter the bye week at 4-1 which is somewhat deflating considering how awful Florida looked against Kentucky on Saturday. However, being disappointed with 4-1 heading into October speaks to how far this program has come in a short amount of time. Everything the Vols want to accomplish is still up for grabs this year. The SEC as a whole looks less daunting, and the Vols have a bye week to get healthy before welcoming the Texas A&M Aggies to Neyland Stadium. Texas A&M hasn’t lived up to the hype so far and their starting QB Connor Weigman is out for the year. A backup QB playing in Neyland tilts this game in favor of the Vols, and if the Vols are able to get that victory it would set up another monumental Third Saturday in October in Tuscaloosa. Get Healthy, get ready for the Aggies, and then dismantle those cultish weirdos from College Station.

Featured image via @AstroSmokeyX