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Vols... There's Something They ARE NOT Telling You About Tennessee Football · SEC Football Addiction

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Kennesaw state came into Neyland stadium as a group of
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: five underdog with a chip on its shoulder. That's how
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: these games always get sold, right? The scrappy underdog, the
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: anything can happen on any given Saturday energy.
• 0:13
  Speaker 2: It was a Tennessee team. That's supposed to be looking ahead, right?
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: To this next weekend's coming up game against Texas where
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: game day will be a little.
• 0:22
  Speaker 2: Birdie told me that I'll be there too. So if
• 0:24
  Speaker 2: you are in the area, let me know.
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: Of suggestions or tailgates that I need to stop by,
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: Walls fans.
• 0:31
  Speaker 2: But instead of it being.
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: What it really was, what this really was was a
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: dress rehearsal for a matchup that's coming next week.
• 0:43
  Speaker 2: And for about a drive, maybe you believed.
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: In Kennesaw State just a little bit and went down
• 0:48
  Speaker 1: and scored a field goal to.
• 0:50
  Speaker 2: Put some points on the board.
• 0:51
  Speaker 1: And then from that moment on, Tennessee remembered what stadium
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: it was standing in.
• 0:57
  Speaker 2: This is SEC Football Addiction.
• 0:59
  Speaker 1: My name is TJ Pittenger, and we are presented by PrizePix,
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: where all new users who play a $ 5 lineup and
• 1:04
  Speaker 1: win get $ 150 in lineups instantly. Final score, number 15,
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: Tennessee 42, Kennesaw State 9.
• 1:13
  Speaker 2: And if you want the headline in one sentence, it
• 1:17
  Speaker 2: is this.
• 1:18
  Speaker 1: The Vols scored on three straight drives to open this game,
• 1:23
  Speaker 1: and the only drama that mattered at all was how
• 1:27
  Speaker 1: much time the backups would get to go out and play.
• 1:31
  Speaker 1: Deshaun Bishop got things rolling with a three-yard touchdown run.
• 1:35
  Speaker 1: Kennesaw State answered with a field goal. Credit where it's due.
• 1:38
  Speaker 1: They came out with a great scripted plan, and they
• 1:43
  Speaker 1: executed it well, well enough to at least make it
• 1:46
  Speaker 1: 7-3 for a few minutes. And then we've talked about
• 1:49
  Speaker 1: him plenty already on this channel. Braylon Staley hauled in
• 1:53
  Speaker 1: a 13-yard reception for a touchdown. Tennessee went after the
• 1:58
  Speaker 1: two-point conversion, got that as well to go up 15-3.
• 2:02
  Speaker 1: The margin was manageable, I guess, on the scoreboard, but
• 2:07
  Speaker 1: certainly didn't feel very manageable on the field. A couple
• 2:11
  Speaker 1: more field goals for Tennessee, and it was 21-3 at halftime.
• 2:16
  Speaker 2: You hit, I believe, a 40 and a 43-yarder.
• 2:19
  Speaker 1: Not chip shots by any means, but good kicks to
• 2:23
  Speaker 1: pad Tennessee's lead while the defense strangled any hope. that
• 2:27
  Speaker 1: Kennesaw state had God, some ugly stuff in there too,
• 2:31
  Speaker 1: a fumble on one drive, but the defense went out
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: and got it right back from you as well. You
• 2:36
  Speaker 1: had to punt on one drive in the first half,
• 2:38
  Speaker 1: but overall it went about as well as you would
• 2:40
  Speaker 1: want it to. The third quarter is where this stopped
• 2:44
  Speaker 1: being a football game and started being a formality. Morris
• 2:48
  Speaker 1: broke off a 42-yard touchdown run. Faison Brandon punched one
• 2:53
  Speaker 1: in himself from five yards out, and it was all
• 2:56
  Speaker 1: of a sudden 35-3 heading to the fourth quarter, and
• 2:59
  Speaker 1: it was decided. Kennesaw State's night was over, and for
• 3:03
  Speaker 1: all intent and purposes, was over well before the fourth
• 3:06
  Speaker 1: quarter even started, but Tennessee scored one more touchdown in
• 3:10
  Speaker 1: the fourth quarter to make it 42-3, and that was
• 3:11
  Speaker 1: all she wrote. I will note Tennessee scored on seven
• 3:17
  Speaker 1: of 10 offensive possessions. One ended with a fumble, two
• 3:21
  Speaker 1: ended with punts, but all in all, a pretty efficient
• 3:25
  Speaker 1: day for the volunteers. So about phase on Brandon for
• 3:28
  Speaker 1: just a second, because this is the actual story of this.
• 3:31
  Speaker 2: Football team right now.
• 3:33
  Speaker 1: To me, 178 passing yards, 47 more rushing yards.
• 3:39
  Speaker 2: He had two total touchdowns, both touchdowns.
• 3:44
  Speaker 1: Running and passing. I thought he was very efficient. 18
• 3:47
  Speaker 1: of 26. He looks controlled. It's what you want out
• 3:51
  Speaker 1: of a young quarterback. I don't think phase on is
• 3:53
  Speaker 1: going to go out there and put up Darian Minson
• 3:55
  Speaker 1: numbers where he goes 22 or 24 or something ridiculous
• 3:58
  Speaker 1: like that.
• 3:58
  Speaker 2: He's going to have a few errant passes.
• 4:01
  Speaker 1: He's young, but he's a quarterback who is still figuring
• 4:06
  Speaker 1: out how much he has to do versus how much
• 4:09
  Speaker 1: he can let.
• 4:10
  Speaker 2: The pieces around him handle it all.
• 4:13
  Speaker 1: This wasn't a game that Brandon needed to throw for
• 4:16
  Speaker 1: 350 yards to win. It was a game where he
• 4:19
  Speaker 1: needed to manage the offense, take what was there, and
• 4:22
  Speaker 1: not turn the ball over against a very overmatched opponent.
• 4:26
  Speaker 1: And he did just that. Dwayne Morris was your workhorse
• 4:29
  Speaker 1: on the day. 14 carries, 116 yards, one touchdown coming
• 4:33
  Speaker 1: on a 42-yard burst. He averaged over eight yards a
• 4:37
  Speaker 1: rush against that Kennesaw State defense, and they simply had
• 4:40
  Speaker 1: no answer for him. And then once the game was
• 4:44
  Speaker 1: fully in hand, Hunter Barnes, a backup walk-on who's been
• 4:47
  Speaker 1: thrust into a bigger role than anybody expected due to injuries,
• 4:51
  Speaker 1: also punched in a four-yard touchdown of his own. He
• 4:56
  Speaker 1: had seven carries for 63 yards. He tied his career
• 4:59
  Speaker 1: high in both categories. It wasn't necessarily garbage time production
• 5:03
  Speaker 1: against a defense that had stopped trying. It's a young
• 5:06
  Speaker 1: player that made the absolute most out of an opportunity
• 5:09
  Speaker 1: that was handed to him. Kennesaw State did manage to
• 5:12
  Speaker 1: make the final score look a bit better. They had
• 5:15
  Speaker 1: two fourth-quarter field goals around Barnes' touchdown to get from
• 5:19
  Speaker 1: 35-3 to 42-9, a little bit of a silver lining
• 5:24
  Speaker 1: for them.
• 5:26
  Speaker 2: And that's fine.
• 5:27
  Speaker 1: I don't think anybody in Knoxville is sleeping on or
• 5:31
  Speaker 1: losing sleep about a couple of field goals that sandwiched
• 5:35
  Speaker 1: a touchdown drive. I don't do a good job of
• 5:38
  Speaker 1: giving special teams as much love as it deserves. Cooper's
• 5:42
  Speaker 1: two field goals in that second quarter are not going
• 5:44
  Speaker 1: to jump off the page the way a touchdown run
• 5:46
  Speaker 1: of 42 yards does, but they matter a lot more
• 5:48
  Speaker 1: than they may look. A special teams unit that's automatic
• 5:52
  Speaker 1: inside of 45 yards is the kind of quiet reliability
• 5:56
  Speaker 1: that wins close SEC.
• 5:58
  Speaker 2: Games later in the year. You guys know that after
• 6:01
  Speaker 2: last year against UGA.
• 6:03
  Speaker 1: Games that don't get decided by 33 points where every
• 6:07
  Speaker 1: point matters and has to be earned the hard way,
• 6:09
  Speaker 1: that's something you can count on. Brandon Staley's touchdown catch
• 6:14
  Speaker 1: was his second straight week finding the end zone after
• 6:16
  Speaker 1: hauling in his first touchdown of the season against Georgia Tech.
• 6:20
  Speaker 1: He's a receiver that's starting to establish himself as a
• 6:22
  Speaker 1: real red zone target. And it's worth remembering that before
• 6:26
  Speaker 1: Staley's streak started, it was Ethan Davis and it was
• 6:29
  Speaker 1: Mike Matthews finding the end zone first.
• 6:31
  Speaker 2: In the opener against Furman.
• 6:32
  Speaker 1: They're different names through the first few weeks, and now
• 6:35
  Speaker 1: Staley's turned into the guy that Brandon keeps trusting. I
• 6:40
  Speaker 1: don't think that's accidental. It's a coaching staff that's built
• 6:43
  Speaker 1: an offense with more than one way to beat you.
• 6:46
  Speaker 2: Just before we go on, I mentioned this in the intro,
• 6:48
  Speaker 2: but I'm coming to your city.
• 6:50
  Speaker 1: I'm not College Game Day, no, but I will be
• 6:52
  Speaker 1: there for the game this weekend against number one, Texas.
• 6:56
  Speaker 2: I need two things from you.
• 6:58
  Speaker 1: One, give me a tailgate suggestion to go by and
• 7:01
  Speaker 1: see some people before the game. If you think your
• 7:03
  Speaker 1: tailgate's the one that I should come and maybe record
• 7:06
  Speaker 1: a live podcast that I don't know. Number two, I
• 7:10
  Speaker 1: need you guys to subscribe to our audio feed because
• 7:13
  Speaker 1: I'm going to be driving back from Knoxville. I won't
• 7:15
  Speaker 1: be able to do a reaction on video. So I'll
• 7:18
  Speaker 1: put something out audio wise, win, lose, or draw. I
• 7:21
  Speaker 1: know you can't draw no matter what I will do
• 7:23
  Speaker 1: an audio podcast on my experience at Tennessee. And I
• 7:27
  Speaker 1: will certainly do one, you know, same, same podcast, but
• 7:30
  Speaker 1: I'll do one on the game as well.
• 7:32
  Speaker 2: You're going to want to hear it. I'm going to
• 7:34
  Speaker 2: be raw off the emotion, highs and lows.
• 7:36
  Speaker 1: You're not going to get me in that gaudy Tennessee orange,
• 7:38
  Speaker 1: but I will be super excited not to quote Ella Langley.
• 7:41
  Speaker 1: I will be super excited to have experienced my first
• 7:44
  Speaker 1: game in Knoxville. SEC football addiction, Apple, Spotify, wherever. Make
• 7:48
  Speaker 1: sure you're subscribed. I will get a video up at
• 7:51
  Speaker 1: some point throughout the weekend, I'm sure, but I won't
• 7:54
  Speaker 1: be able to do a video while I'm driving. I
• 7:55
  Speaker 1: can hold a phone up. and just talk into it
• 7:58
  Speaker 1: while I sit in traffic. So make sure you're subscribed there.
• 8:02
  Speaker 1: Links are in the description. Do not miss that. So
• 8:06
  Speaker 1: what do you actually take away from a 33-point win
• 8:11
  Speaker 1: over a Conference USA opponent that was never really in doubt?
• 8:15
  Speaker 1: Three things quickly, and then I'll be done. None of
• 8:18
  Speaker 1: them are, well, it was just Kennesaw State. Takeaway number one,
• 8:23
  Speaker 1: Tennessee's depth at running back is deeper than the injury
• 8:26
  Speaker 1: report suggested it should be. When your running back two
• 8:29
  Speaker 1: situation gets thin enough that a walk-on is getting carries
• 8:34
  Speaker 1: in games, that is usually a red flag. Instead, Barnes
• 8:39
  Speaker 1: went out and averaged nine yards a carry. tying his
• 8:42
  Speaker 1: career high in both carries and yards. It's not just
• 8:45
  Speaker 1: Tennessee's offensive line manhandling an overmatched front, though it was
• 8:49
  Speaker 1: plenty of that happening as well.
• 8:51
  Speaker 2: It's a program that's built.
• 8:53
  Speaker 1: Enough depth and enough coaching continuity in the running back
• 8:56
  Speaker 1: room that the next man up doesn't look lost when
• 8:59
  Speaker 1: his number gets called.
• 9:00
  Speaker 2: I know it's Kennesaw State.
• 9:02
  Speaker 1: I'm not trying to do backflips over that, but it
• 9:05
  Speaker 1: is going to matter, guys, in October.
• 9:07
  Speaker 2: When the SEC.
• 9:08
  Speaker 1: Play grinds bodies down and the two deep actually gets
• 9:12
  Speaker 1: tested for real, it's going to matter a lot. Takeaway two,
• 9:16
  Speaker 1: Faison Brandon is exactly the kind of quarterback that this
• 9:20
  Speaker 1: offense needed.
• 9:21
  Speaker 2: He is a facilitator. He's not a hero ball guy.
• 9:24
  Speaker 1: There's a version of college football where our young quarterback
• 9:28
  Speaker 1: with this kind of arm tries to force the issue
• 9:32
  Speaker 1: against an overmatched opponent. Pads his stats, takes unnecessary risks.
• 9:36
  Speaker 1: Brandon didn't do that.
• 9:38
  Speaker 2: Two touchdowns. He was efficient in his decision-making. No interceptions.
• 9:42
  Speaker 1: I know the fumble happened. It's a quarterback that understands
• 9:46
  Speaker 1: the assignment. Against Kennesaw State, that's a nice trait to have.
• 9:51
  Speaker 1: Against Bama or Texas or LSU, that same trait will
• 9:56
  Speaker 1: be the difference between a competitive.
• 9:58
  Speaker 2: Game and a blowout in the wrong direction.
• 10:01
  Speaker 1: It also might be the difference in you winning games
• 10:04
  Speaker 1: that maybe before the season, you didn't quite think you
• 10:06
  Speaker 1: were going to take away three and we'll be done.
• 10:09
  Speaker 2: The defense did its.
• 10:10
  Speaker 1: Job quietly and quiet is exactly what you want in
• 10:14
  Speaker 1: a game like this. Kennesaw State scored a total of
• 10:17
  Speaker 1: nine points. Six of those came in the fourth quarter
• 10:20
  Speaker 1: when reserves were in. The starting defense held a conference
• 10:24
  Speaker 1: USA offense to essentially nothing for three quarters. They forced
• 10:28
  Speaker 1: field goal attempts instead of touchdowns, even in the moments
• 10:31
  Speaker 1: that Kennesaw State was able to move the ball. It
• 10:34
  Speaker 1: is not a highlight reel kind of performance to me.
• 10:37
  Speaker 1: It's the dominant, quiet kind of performance that doesn't get
• 10:40
  Speaker 1: talked about nearly enough. A defense doing exactly what it's
• 10:44
  Speaker 1: supposed to do. against an opponent that it's supposed to beat,
• 10:47
  Speaker 1: without the kind of letdown that turns a 33-point win
• 10:50
  Speaker 1: into an uncomfortable Saturday afternoon. Here's why this game actually
• 10:55
  Speaker 1: matters beyond the final score. There's something to be said
• 10:59
  Speaker 1: for how this program has been built under Josh Heupel.
• 11:02
  Speaker 1: Several seasons ago, a game like this was the exception.
• 11:06
  Speaker 1: Tennessee finds ways in the past to make games even
• 11:10
  Speaker 1: like this, the easy ones, interesting for the very wrong reasons.
• 11:13
  Speaker 1: That's not who this program is anymore. Blowing out group
• 11:17
  Speaker 1: of five opponents by 33 points, resting starters for long stretches,
• 11:22
  Speaker 1: and still walking away without a single moment of real
• 11:24
  Speaker 1: concern is what the program is doing with the depth
• 11:28
  Speaker 1: and the coaching stability that they have.
• 11:31
  Speaker 2: That didn't happen by accident.
• 11:33
  Speaker 1: It happened because Heupel and his staff have spent three
• 11:36
  Speaker 1: years recruiting and developing exactly the kind of two deep
• 11:40
  Speaker 1: that makes this formality of a game feel like just
• 11:44
  Speaker 1: that instead of being a trap. Tennessee just closed out
• 11:48
  Speaker 1: its non-conference schedule and they closed it out the right way.
• 11:51
  Speaker 2: No upset scares, no unnecessary.
• 11:54
  Speaker 1: Drama, no reason for Josh Heupel to have anything to
• 11:57
  Speaker 1: uncomfortable in his post-game press conference? That's exactly what you
• 12:01
  Speaker 1: want out of a tune-up game against overmatched competition.
• 12:05
  Speaker 2: You get your depth some reps. You keep your starters healthy.
• 12:08
  Speaker 2: You move on.
• 12:09
  Speaker 1: You think about what a game like this actually accomplishes
• 12:12
  Speaker 1: that a nail-biter wouldn't. Depth pieces get real snaps. A
• 12:17
  Speaker 1: walk-on running back gets tape that could matter later in
• 12:19
  Speaker 1: the year if the injury report doesn't clear up. A
• 12:22
  Speaker 1: young quarterback gets to work on managing a game cleanly
• 12:25
  Speaker 1: instead of needing to bail his team out of trouble.
• 12:28
  Speaker 1: None of that may show up in a highlight package,
• 12:31
  Speaker 1: but all of it shows up in October and November
• 12:34
  Speaker 1: when the margin for error shrinks. And the team that's
• 12:37
  Speaker 1: used its non-conference schedule wisely is the one that's still
• 12:41
  Speaker 1: playing meaningful football. And now is when the real season starts.
• 12:46
  Speaker 1: Texas comes to Neyland Stadium on Saturday to open up
• 12:49
  Speaker 1: SEC play. And there is not a louder welcome in
• 12:52
  Speaker 1: all of college football that the schedule makers could have
• 12:55
  Speaker 1: written up. You got the number one team coming into
• 12:57
  Speaker 1: your house. No more tune-up games. No games where the
• 13:01
  Speaker 1: outcome is basically decided by the second quarter. Everything Tennessee
• 13:05
  Speaker 1: showed last night, The depth at running back, the quarterback discipline,
• 13:09
  Speaker 1: the quiet defense is about to get tested by a
• 13:12
  Speaker 1: genuine top-tier opponent for the first time all season. SEC
• 13:17
  Speaker 1: play is what's going to determine whether this Tennessee team
• 13:20
  Speaker 1: is a playoff contender or just a really good team
• 13:22
  Speaker 1: that comes up a little short in the games that
• 13:25
  Speaker 1: matter the most. Everything Tennessee has shown through three weeks,
• 13:29
  Speaker 1: a deep physical running game, a quarterback who plays within himself,
• 13:32
  Speaker 1: and a defense that does its job without needing to
• 13:35
  Speaker 1: be spectacular, that's the exact formula. It's the formula that
• 13:39
  Speaker 1: wins SEC games in October and November. But formulas only
• 13:44
  Speaker 1: mean something once they get tested against SEC competition. Kennesaw
• 13:50
  Speaker 1: State came to Knoxville. They made it 7-3 for a
• 13:52
  Speaker 1: few minutes ahead. and then found out the hard way
• 13:55
  Speaker 1: why Neyland Stadium has the reputation that it has. But
• 13:59
  Speaker 1: the real test for Tennessee and this program starts this week.
• 14:04
  Speaker 1: I appreciate you guys for tuning in. I'd love to
• 14:06
  Speaker 1: know your thoughts. I'd love if you were subscribed to
• 14:08
  Speaker 1: our audio feeds, SEC Football Addiction, everywhere. Again, I'll do
• 14:13
  Speaker 1: something post-game for you guys for sure. Make sure you
• 14:15
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• 14:18
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• 14:19
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• 14:24
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• 14:27
  Speaker 1: if we appreciate you guys for tuning in, we'll talk
• 14:29
  Speaker 1: to you next time here on SEC football addiction.