QB switch doesn't spark Tennessee offense as South Carolina beats Vols 15-9
Tennessee’s bye week and a change in quarterbacks didn’t do much to spark the Volunteer offense.
The Vols mustered just three first half field goals vs. South Carolina on Saturday and had six yards of offense in the second half before a last-gasp drive that put Tennessee in position to steal a win.
The win wasn’t stolen as South Carolina won 15-9.
Tennessee had first and goal at the South Carolina 5 with 22 seconds left. Instead of spiking the ball on first down after the clock started, the Vols elected to run a play. That meant nine seconds elapsed on the clock before QB Jarrett Guarantano threw an incomplete pass into the end zone.
Guarantano was making his first start of the season in place of Quinten Dormady.
Pass interference was called on South Carolina on that play, so Tennessee had first and goal at the 2 with nine seconds left. Here’s how the next three plays went:
• Guarantano almost got sacked and heaved a throw out of the end zone out of desperation with four seconds left.
• On second down, Guarantano’s pass was batted down at the line of scrimmage. Somehow, only three seconds elapsed, leaving Tennessee with a chance for one more play.
• Guarantano looked for Brandon Johnson to the right just inside the end zone but his pass fell incomplete. The game was over. And Tennessee still hasn’t scored a touchdown since playing UMass on Sept. 23.
The sequence was a perfect example of the awfulness of Tennessee’s red-zone offense throughout the 2017 season. And will do Tennessee coach Butch Jones’ job status no favors.
Jones and his offensive coaching staff presumably made the switch at QB — after a bye week that Jones complimented — to get the offense some more juice. The extra leadership reps and practice time weren’t an immediate fix.
Guarantano was 11-of-18 passing for 133 yards. He had two more pass attempts than star running back John Kelly had carries. Kelly had 16 carries for 58 yards and had two catches for 21 yards.
Good things happen when Tennessee gets the ball to Kelly, though he’s had 32 carries for 102 yards over the past two games as the Volunteer pass game has experienced some difficulties.
But still. Through Tennessee’s first six games Kelly has carried the ball more than 20 times just once.
Will Jones be Tennessee’s coach next Saturday? We have no reason to think he won’t be, even if Tennessee fans’ cries for a new coach are now screams heard in all of the neighboring states. And if he does stay on, well, good luck. No. 1 Alabama is Tennessee’s Week 8 opponent.
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Nick Bromberg is the editor of Dr. Saturday and From the Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
