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Tennessee Football takes care of business in home opener

By Colton Pickard

KNOXVILLE, TN - OCTOBER 12: Josh Palmer #5 of the Tennessee Volunteers gestures during a game against the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Neyland Stadium on October 12, 2019 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - OCTOBER 12: Josh Palmer #5 of the Tennessee Volunteers gestures during a game against the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Neyland Stadium on October 12, 2019 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images) /
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Tennessee Football took care of business on Saturday in its home opener against Missouri with a 35-12 win over the Tigers to improve to 2-0 on the season.

Tennessee football looked much improved from last week in their win on Saturday against Missouri. The 35-12 victory marks the second of the season and eighth straight win dating back to last season. With Georgia next on the schedule, Tennessee faces its first real challenge against that win streak next Saturday.

The Vols came into the game as 11.5 point favorites over the Tigers, which I thought was a bit high, but Tennessee covered the spread with some room to spare.

Jarrett Guarantano didn’t have the best game of his career, but the Tennessee rushing game saw another great performance from the Vols’ two running backs.

Eric Gray led the Vols in rushing on Saturday with 105 yards and a touchdown. Ty Chandler wasn’t too far behind him with 90 yards and a touchdown. Those are some impressive numbers for the two running backs to combine for nearly 200 rushing yards for the Vols. If you include Jabari Small and Guarantano’s rushing yards, then the Vols easily pass the 200-yard mark in the game.

Josh Palmer continued to step up as the Vols’ most talented receiver, but with the passing game lacking for most of the game with a few exceptions, he didn’t have the game he should have. Palmer caught four passes for 71 yards. That’s impressive alone, but if he’s going to be the Vols’ No. 1 receiver, then he should be getting the ball more than four times per game.

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Guarantano did have two big throws in the game that helped set the Vols up for some points on two separate drives. The other was to freshman Jalin Hyatt for 36 yards, and the Vols were able to take advantage of the big play and score a touchdown to take an early 7-0 lead in the game.

Palmer’s 33-yard reception was the other. Brent Cimaglia missed the attempted field goal a few plays later as the Vols left points on the board.

On the defensive side of the football, the defense looked much better compared to the previous week against South Carolina. The defense took care of business and only allowed one touchdown from the Missouri offense.

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The Vols are going to need to continue to improve, especially on the defensive side of the football, with Georgia next on the schedule.

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