KNOXVILLE—The Vols fell 34-31 in overtime to the Georgia Bulldogs over the weekend. I took a few looks at the film and graded the performance of each unit. Agree or disagree with my grades? Leave a comment below!

Quarterbacks

It was quite a game for Justin Worley. He went from being booed in the first half to leading the Vols to a near victory over UGA in the second. The junior QB threw for just 62 yards in the first half and the Vol offense was anemic against a Bulldog defense that gives up 32.5 points per game and 277 yards through the air. After intermission, we saw a different Worley. He was 10-17 for 153 yards and one TD and really outplayed Aaron Murray (7-16 for 77 yards). All told, Worley played his best half of football Saturday and if he can string together 4 consecutive quarters of solid play, the Vols have a great shot at knocking off the Gamecocks in two weeks. Grade: B

Running backs

Rajion Neal ran with tenacity and determination all day. Even when the offense wasn’t clicking, his efforts kept UT in the game and allowed the Vols to keep the football out of Murray’s hands. He finished the day with 28 carries for 148 yards and two touchdowns. His 148 yards were the most by a Vol running back in an SEC game since Montario Hardesty put up 179 yards on Kentucky in 2009. Neal converted two 4th down attempts and scored from seven yards out to give the Vols the lead late in the fourth quarter. On one fourth and one, he was hit behind the line but his lunging second effort was enough to keep the chains moving. Neal’s yards after contact were huge all day and he managed to fall forward nearly every carry. Grade: A

Receivers/Tight ends

This unit played their best game of the year. Pig Howard tallied 116 yards of offense (46 on the ground and 70 through the air) and Georgia simply had no answer for him at times. Though he fumbled in OT, the Vols aren’t even in the game without his performance and he showed he can be a weapon in an offense searching for playmakers. Marquez North finally picked up his first career TD with an acrobatic catch while both Josh Smith and Jason Croom recorded two huge catches on third and long. Brendan Downs was effective in the run game at tight end and A.J. Branisel recorded a massive fourth down conversion on a 28 yard pass from Worley. A solid performance from this group that would have been rated higher if not for Pig’s fumble and a drop by Marquez North. Grade: B

Offensive line

Tennessee’s offensive line was better in the running game than the passing game, a reversal of roles from their performances the past few years. Georgia’s defensive front had some success pressuring Worley throughout the game and tallied three sacks. Tiny Richardson got beat multiple times when pass blocking and Zach Fulton also gave up a sack.  On the ground, the line did a solid job of opening up holes against Georgia’s rather stingy run defense (ranked 39th nationally) and the Vols ran for 189 yards—which eclipsed the 186 combined rushing yards of their previous THREE matchups with the Bulldogs. Grade: B

Defensive line

The Vol defensive front had another solid day. Daniel McCullers got pressure up the middle and disrupted Georgia’s offense. Though he had just two tackles, they both went for a loss. Marlon Walls and Corey Miller both had productive days and freshman Corey Vereen sacked Murray on a key third down late. It was the first career sack for Vereen but certainly won’t be his last. Jacques Smith turned in his first big game of the year with five tackles (one for a loss and one QB hurry). On the downside, they struggled containing Georgia on the edges, a consistent theme this year. Though it wasn’t a dominant performance, the Vol defensive front was more consistently productive than LSU’s last weekend. Grade: B-

Linebackers

A.J. Johnson played some of his best football Saturday. He led the Vols with 12 tackles and didn’t get exposed in pass coverage as we’ve seen the past few weeks. Dontavis Sapp was solid in pass coverage and had seven tackles. Brewer was banged up and didn’t play much and the Vols opted for a lot of nickel looks after he left the game. Murray’s 57 yard run wasn’t on the linebackers, they were in coverage like they were supposed to be, it was Tennessee’s defensive backs which whiffed on Murray’s scamper. Like the rest of the team, the Vol linebackers struggled to contain Georgia’s outside rushing attack. Grade: B

Secondary

Tennessee’s secondary was more than solid in pass coverage against UGA’s potent passing attack. They held Murray to 196 yards passing, that’s 149 yards under his season average. They were also the victim of a bad pass interference call on Georgia’s game-tying drive. However, the Vol defensive backs had way too many missed tackles, something Georgia attacked with WR screens and by running toward the edge. McNeil didn’t play his best game and by my count had more missed tackles (at least 4) than tackles (2). Brian Randolph was second on the team with seven tackles while reserve safety Byron Moore added three stops. Grade: B-

Special Teams

The Vols won the special teams game again Saturday, something that’s becoming commonplace for Butch Jones’ squad. Palardy averaged 51.2 yards per punt, five of his six kickoffs were downed for a touchback, and he nailed a 26 yard field goal. The big play of the game came when Jalen Reeves-Maybin blocked a Georgia punt and Devaun Swafford scooped up the ball and returned it 15 yards for a game-tying touchdown. Swafford, a walk-on, has scored twice on the year. Think he deserves a scholarship? Reeves-Maybin also had three big special teams tackles. It’s just a matter of time before he makes it into the rotation at linebacker. Grade: A

Coaching

It wasn’t a win, but the Vols played their best half of football in a long time Saturday. Down 17-3, they fought back, executed, and nearly picked up their first win over a top-10 team since 2006. The defensive gameplan was very good. Jancek’s unit did a great job of disguising coverages presnap. As a result, Murray struggled and recorded his fewest passing yards and lowest completion percentage since the Bulldogs played the Gators on October 27th last season. The Vol defense held UGA to 434 yards. That’s 120 yards under their season average. Offensively, Tennessee finally got things rolling in a second half which saw them outscore Georgia 28-14. Worley played his best half of football and Bajakian did a great job of utilizing Pig Howard’s skill set in the offense. You finally got to see a glimpse of what Tennessee’s offense can do when players execute. Butch Jones’ calls on 4th down were darn near brilliant. Though it wasn’t reflected on the final scoreboard, Jones outcoached Richt in this one and nearly handed an outmatched Tennessee team the signature victory fans have been longing for.  Grade: B+