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Volume 136, Issue 29
Monday, November 27, 2018
Inside: • With only seven school days until the last day of classes, Campus News Editor Cat Trieu breaks down what to expect for the last few weeks of school on page 2.
• Is hate speech free speech? Columnist Mateos Hayes gives his take on page 3.
• Wreck it Ralph and Robin Hood made their debut on the big screen this weekend. Contributors Jake Yoder and Nick Sayegh review the films on page 4.
• The Vols basketball team missed out on its chance at the NIT Tip-Off Title Saturday. Read more on page 8.
Jarrett Guarantano, #2, during game against Vanderbilt at Vanderbilt Stadium on Nov. 24, 2018. Photo Courtesy of Tennessee Athletics
Offense sputters, Vols fall short of bowl berth with loss to Vanderbilt Will Backus
Offense comes out flat
It was the Tennessee football team’s (5-7, 2-6 SEC) final chance to crack the postseason for the first time in two years when it traveled to Nashville Saturday to face the Vanderbilt Commodores (6-6, 3-5 SEC). Under the lights of Vanderbilt Stadium, the Vols fell short of the call, losing 38-13. With now three wins in a row, it is Vanderbilt’s longest winning streak in this rivalry in 92 years. It was also the Commodores’ largest margin of victory since 1954. “First off, I think it’s pretty simple,” head coach Jeremy Pruitt said. “The best team won today. They executed better than we did… Lord knows we’ve got a long way to go, and we’ve got to improve. “You’ve just got to give Vanderbilt credit. They deserved to win. They outplayed us.” Here are some takeaways from Tennessee’s loss:
Tennessee is no offensive juggernaut- it averages just over 333 yards and 23 points per game, good for 119th and 106th in the nation, respectively. But in Saturday’s loss, it was nothing short of ineffective. In fact, the Vols had their worst offensive showing of the season, one already filled with particularly poor offensive showings. “We tried to keep a plan that we could execute,” Pruitt said. “We tried to get the ball out of our quarterback’s hands.” Against the nation’s 94th ranked defense, the offense’s only sign of life was a 75-yard touchdown run by Ty Chandler to start the second half, their only touchdown of the game. Outside of that, Tennessee had 47 plays for just 167 yards. Jarrett Guarantano’s play mimicked the entire offense’s, as he was held to just 139 yards passing. He also threw his first interception in 166 attempts, ending his record-setting streak. It was the first game in which he threw a pick
Asst. Sports Editor
since the loss to Florida. The Vols had just 11 first downs and were 3-for-10 on third down. They were also largely outweighed in time of possession, holding the ball for 16:57 minutes compared to Vanderbilt’s 43:03. Secondary a no-show Vanderbilt’s Kyle Shurmur had always shown out against Tennessee. In their past two matchups, he has 689 yards and six touchdowns to just one interception, to go with a 63-percent completion percentage. On Saturday, he had arguably his best performance of the bunch. He did not miss on a pass until the dwindling minutes of the first half, finishing the first 30 minutes of play at 15-of-16 passing for 165 yards and one touchdown. While the Vols’ pass rush did their job, sacking Shurmur three times in the first half, it was the secondary that got carved up. “The teams that win every Saturday show up, and we didn’t,” defensive
lineman Kyle Phillips said. “We don’t show up every Saturday. And that’s been a big problem of ours.” Things didn’t change in the second half, either, as Shurmur’s hot hand showed no signs of cooling. He finished missing on just three more passes, finishing 31-of-35 for 367 yards and three touchdowns. Next Up The loss marked the end of the season for the Vols, with a bowl bid now outside of their grasp. They will now turn their attention to recruiting and next season. Early signing day for high school prospects is slated for Dec. 19, while the Vols will return to practice in the spring, where most starting spots for next season will likely be up for grabs. The players believe that the team will continue to improve under Pruitt. “He’s a no-nonsense type of guy,” quarterback Keller Chryst said. “It’s a similar principle I see around other programs. The formula is simple, but it’s not easy to execute.”