Chattanooga vs. Tennessee: Game Grades and Analysis for the Vols

The Tennessee Volunteers defeated the Chattanooga Mocs 45-10 Saturday, but the final score isn't indicative of a truly dominating performance.

Instead, the win simply highlighted Tennessee's enormous deficiencies on its offensive line, as quarterback Justin Worley was sacked fives times and Nathan Peterman was sacked once.

Positional Unit	First-Half Grade	Final Grade
Pass Offense	B+	B
Run Offense	C-	C-
Pass Defense	B+	A
Run Defense	B+	B+
Special Teams	A	B+
Coaching	A	A

Pass Offense

Worley threw for 198 yards and three touchdowns with zero interceptions.

It's tough to find fault with that, but he did leave big yards on the field when he overthrew a few deep balls on plays where his wide receivers had their defenders beat.

Peterman didn't get a chance to throw many passes Saturday, so the Vols' total yardage through the air suffered a bit. 

Run Offense

The Vols rushed for 123 yards on 42 attempts, which equals a dismal 2.9 yards per rush.

Granted, Tennessee's two leading rushers, Marlin Lane and Jalen Hurd, were held out for much of the game, but that number is alarming as Tennessee enters the most important part of its SEC schedule in the coming weeks.

Pass Defense

The Mocs were 10-of-17 passing with only 96 yards on offense through the air. Tennessee's secondary has been a strength this year, and that group's excellent play continued in this matchup. 

Run Defense

The Mocs ran the ball with the same efficiency as Tennessee, gaining 106 yards on 37 attempts for 2.9 yards per rush.

Tennessee's defensive front is surprisingly stout this year, and with the exception of Todd Gurley, it hasn't allowed many big plays at all on the ground. 

Special Teams

Multiple touchbacks on kickoffs, booming punts and a muffed punt recovery and a 68-yard kickoff return made special teams one of the Vols' strongest units Saturday.

Aaron Medley missed a late field goal, but it's hard to blame him when the game is already that far out of hand. 

Coaching

The Vols were well-coached in Saturday's game, with only one penalty and great execution on defense and special teams. Offensive coordinator Mike Bajakian never abandoned the run, despite its early ineffectiveness, and those reps are valuable moving forward for both the offensive line and the running backs. 

Tennessee's offensive scheme took a lot of criticism last week, but once the offensive line gets the strength and experience to compete in the SEC, it has the potential to be fairly potent.