COLUMBIA—The Tigers humbled the Vols, 31-3, and dominated nearly every facet of the game. Here are a few thoughts, notes, and quotes.

Notes

*The Vols were held without a touchdown for the first time since a 14-3 loss to South Carolina in 2011. Justin Worley and Matt Simms led the Vol offense in that game and combined to go 15-38 for 151 yards and two interceptions.*

*Though Josh Dobbs turned the ball over three times in his debut as Tennessee’s starter (two interceptions and one fumble), he accounted for 285 total yards—240 through the air and 45 on the ground. That’s the most production (from a yardage standpoint) from a Vol QB since Tyler Bray put up over 400 yards in Tennessee’s overtime loss to Missouri last year. Dobbs was also Tennessee’s leading rusher.*

*Dobbs was 26-42 (62%) for 240 yards and two interceptions. His 26 completions were the most by a Vol true freshman in his first start in school history. His 42 attempts were also a school-record for a true freshman starting his first game.*

*Dobbs rushed for 45 yards on seven carries and his 33-yard run in the second quarter was the longest by a Vol QB since Tee Martin scampered for 38 yards against Notre Dame in 1999.*

*Tennessee gave up 339 rushing yards to Missouri, the No. 2 rushing team in the SEC. It won’t get easier for the Vols next week as they host an Auburn team averaging 315 yards per game on the ground, good for first in the conference and fifth nationally.*

*Pig Howard was a bright spot for Tennessee. He hauled in 11 passes, the most for a Vol WR since Kelley Washington caught 11 passes against LSU in 2001.*

*It wasn’t a good day for Tennessee’s offensive line. Josh Dobbs was sacked twice and under pressure throughout the contest. The o-line also struggled to open up any noticeable holes for Marlin Lane or Rajion Neal. The Vol RBs carried the ball 17 times for 49 yards (2.9 yards per carry) and just didn’t have anywhere to run.*

*Marquez North continued to show he can be consistently productive. He caught seven passes for 68 yards.*

*Tennessee’s defensive line failed to pressure or contain Maty Mauk. He ran for 114 yards, threw for 163 more, and converted 10-19 third down opportunities. He all day to throw and was rarely pressured. The Vols have now gone two consecutive games without a sack.*

*It was a sloppy game from the Vols from an penalty perspective. They were penalized nine times for 65 yards, the most since being penalized nine times for 67 yards against Georgia early in October.*

*Tennessee made it into the redzone just once and didn’t score.*

Quotes

“It’s a line of scrimmage game, when you give up over 300 yards to the other team rushing the ball and your team has less than 100, I think that pretty much tells the story. They dominated the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. Penalties, pre-snap penalties, tackling and two blown assignments on the back end doesn’t give you a chance on the road; it’s all about getting momentum and we weren’t able to do that. Missouri is a good football team, very well coached. I have a lot of respect for Coach Pinkel, but moving forward the goal is still in place of a bowl game and the only thing you can do is get better, but this was unacceptable with the line of scrimmage game. It was unacceptable with the pre-snap penalties, and that’s on me with the penalties. We need to get that corrected. I expect more.”—Butch Jones

“I thought Joshua did some great things; I think he’s going to do nothing but get better and better. I was extremely encouraged by what I saw. He was very even keel, very consistent. I thought he made some great throws, particularly against one of the top defenses in our league.”—Butch Jones

“I said at the beginning of the season that we needed to be a blue-collar team, our margin of error is very small, we need to overachieve in any and all areas to have a chance. Missouri is a good football team but what I cannot tolerate is missed assignments, the penalties.”—Butch Jones

“All of our receivers played their best of any game of the season so far, I think so. Hats off to everybody but we still have not played our best game.”— Missouri QB Maty Mauk

“It was a tough loss Saturday but after Sunday we really started watching Tennessee film and just got our minds off that game. We had our Sunday practice to get it out of our heads. That game left a lot of players with a bitter taste in their mouths and they were determined to come out here and beat these guys.”—Missouri WR Marcus Lucas

Highlights