Tennessee Football: Offensive Weapons Make Vols Locks to Become Bowl-Eligible

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — With 11 minutes remaining in Tennessee's win over Kentucky, quarterback Joshua Dobbs stood on the sideline, flanked by receiver Von Pearson and running back Jalen Hurd, watching the remnants of a rout.

Everybody else in a frigid Neyland Stadium watched that trio dominate the first three quarters of a 50-16 waltz over the Wildcats. 

This is the way it's supposed to go against Kentucky.

With the Cats dispatched and a fifth win secured, the Vols getting one more victory to become bowl-eligible seems a virtual lock. Though Missouri will pose a threat next week, there's no way Vanderbilt can defend what took place Saturday evening.

Pearson obviously thinks the Vols will be tough for anybody to defend. He told GoVols247's Wes Rucker:

The swagger was obviously oozing in the Tennessee locker room, but why shouldn't it? The Vols are rolling right now, and with the postseason now squarely in their sights, they want more. 

A bowl game would be a major step forward for a rebuilding program, but that doesn't seem good enough at this point. With this arsenal of playmakers and Dobbs to make everything tick, winning out looks like a distinct possibility.

Dobbs knows the magnitude of getting to that sixth win, as noted in his comments, per Tennessee Football.

Next week's night game in Neyland Stadium against Missouri could be a dormant UT program's coming-out party. With Dobbs at the helm, the Vols are a tough out for anybody. 

He has even made an offensive line that struggled mightily prior to his arrival look good. Since Dobbs entered for the third series against Alabama, he has accounted for 1,079 yards and 11 touchdowns. UT's offensive line that had allowed 23 sacks until that point has given up just three in three games.

"The defensive ends are more aware of Dobbs' ability to run, and it scares them a little bit," UT offensive lineman Kyler Kerbyson told The Vol Network on the postgame radio show. "They have to be careful when they rush. Dobbs can make us right where we're wrong, which is a really big thing."

All the playmakers surrounding Dobbs certainly help.

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Making his second start and continuing his surge into the national spotlight, Dobbs accounted for 345 total yards and four touchdowns, spraying the ball all over the field to nine different targets. Hurd mopped up with 118 yards on the ground, and a outmanned, gassed Kentucky defense offered little resistance.

Perhaps the best news for the Vols is Pearson's health. During the season-opening rout of Utah State, the junior-college transfer looked like a potential all-conference talent. Then, he suffered a high ankle sprain against Arkansas State and hasn't been the same since.

He was electrifying against UK.

Pearson took a fly sweep from Dobbs on UT's first drive, corkscrewed a Kentucky defender and scampered 21 yards for a touchdown. Dobbs hit him on a short pass a few minutes later, and he did the same thing, making a defender look silly to account for the Vols' third score. 

That kind of open-field talent has been lacking from a UT offense that sputtered until Dobbs took over. Now that the Vols have a dual-threat quarterback who can extend plays and make people miss with his legs, everything is opening up.

Adding a player who can juke defenders and jack-rabbit past everybody such as Pearson gives the Vols a dimension they simply haven't had since Cordarrelle Patterson was in orange and white.

"I've been able to move better left and right, so I'm coming along great," Pearson told The Vol Network. "Every play I go hard, so I'm always 100 percent."

After Kentucky had gained a measure of momentum with a last-second field goal to end the first half, Dobbs hit redshirt sophomore Jason Croom—North's replacement—on a bubble screen.

He split three defenders and raced 52 yards for a score to leave no doubts about the game's outcome.

When the Vols needed short yardage, they gained it, converting two 4th-and-short plays on an eventual touchdown drive. Then, they mixed in some big plays that ignited the crowd and proved they can now beat teams in a variety of ways on offense.

Not only is this good news for now, but also none of the players mentioned are seniors.

Dobbs looks unflappable, especially when he gets to freelance during plays. He told The Vol Network's radio show after the game that's the way he has always been.

"I'm just a chill guy—don't get too high or too low," he said. "When you make a big play, there are still more plays to be made."

The Vols made plenty against Kentucky. Coupled with the 45-point performance against South Carolina, UT now has scored 95 points in the past two games, its highest point total against consecutive SEC opponents since 2003, according to UTSports.com.

The Vols didn't even need the services of its best receiver. Marquez North played just one series before heading to the sideline to rest his banged-up shoulder Saturday night. His teammates picked up the slack.

It feels like old times on Rocky Top. But the Tigers will pose a major threat to Tennessee next week, especially with two of the best defensive ends in the SEC who bolsters the fourth-best scoring defense in the league entering their game against Texas A&M, according to cfbstats.com.

Preparation for Mizzou can wait a day. Saturday was about celebration and getting a step closer to a huge goal for the program. Speaking of celebrations, Vol Photos shared one of those moments Saturday: 

Now, UT has to hear a victorious rendition of "Rocky Top" at least one more time to make a bowl, something that seems almost a foregone conclusion right now.

Getting past the Tigers will be tough, but beating them would really be a step further than many expected. After Mizzou, the Vols' ace up their sleeve is a regular season-ending game at Vanderbilt against a team that hasn't proven equipped to handle dual-threat quarterbacks or dynamic offenses.

UT now has both, something nobody would have expected a month ago.

All stats and information taken from UTSports.com, unless otherwise noted.

Brad Shepard covers SEC football and is the Tennessee Lead Writer for Bleacher Report. Follow Brad on Twitter @Brad_Shepard.