Tennessee Football: Vols' Awful Offense Wasting Defensive Revival

Tennessee's defense played well enough to upset the third-ranked Ole Miss Rebels in Oxford on Saturday night. Unfortunately for the Vols, they had to play offense, too.

The end result was like hitting the repeat button from the Florida game two weeks ago. The Vols made things difficult on the Rebels offense but ultimately fell 34-3. 

Just like against the Gators, the Vols defense played extremely well for much of the game. Just like against the Gators, the offense put its teammates in precarious predicaments with its ineptitude time and time again.

Unlike against the Gators, Ole Miss eventually broke through and broke the game open in the fourth quarter. 

Coach Butch Jones emphasized the need to go back to the drawing board, despite a good defensive effort, per a Tennessee Football tweet:

The Vols continued to overachieve on defense, but they don't have the depth there yet to stay on the field as long as they did Saturday night and still perform at a high level.

A unit that was gassed in the fourth quarter ultimately allowed an ugly number on the scoreboard, but that doesn't tell the story. 

This loss is yet again on UT's offense. The way the Vols are playing on that side of the ball, the game was already over at halftime with the Rebels ahead 14-3. Dustin Dopirak of the Knoxville News Sentinel emphasized how the dismal performance by the Vols offense negated the work of a good defense:

That porous offensive front continued to regress, and it predictably wilted against one of the best defensive fronts in the country. With the "Landsharks" swirling around, UT quarterback Justin Worley had a difficult time.

He was sacked a ridiculous seven times and mustered just 191 passing yards.

Though the offensive line deserves most of the blame, Worley struggled once again in a big game. Even when he wasn't being hit, he threw the ball like he expected to be. 

After turning the football over three times against the Gators, he repeated that feat against the Rebels. 

Worley's turnovers put the Vols in a tough spot moving forward.

Even though Worley appears to be Tennessee's best option at quarterback, the Vols need to consider putting in Joshua Dobbs or Nathan Peterman because of their mobility.

Maybe a running quarterback could get away from the inevitable pressure and open up a running game that reached a new historic low against the Rebels. Rocky Top Insider highlighted the historical significance of UT's rushing performance against Ole Miss:

If the best way to generate yardage is moving the pocket and employing a read-option offense, Worley may not be the best option. At this point, however, it seems no quarterback in the country could perform behind this line.

The Vols may not have a choice but to make a move. During the fourth quarter, Worley hurt his shoulder on what seemed like the hundredth time he'd been hit and did not return.

Michael Chang/Getty Images

No matter who is playing quarterback, right now offensive coordinator Mike Bajakian's unit looks unfixable—especially with a mighty Alabama team coming to Neyland Stadium next week fresh off a 59-0 win over Texas A&M.

The Vols need to at least examine a broken offensive line. Fifth-year senior Jacob Gilliam played much of the night after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament in the season opener. Redshirt freshman guard Austin Sanders got in the game, too, after starter Marcus Jackson sustained an injury.

The most frustrating thing about the Vols and their current 3-4 record is the fact that the only highlights the team is generating is on one side of the ball.

Defense may win championships, but it can't when it has to shut everybody out, since the offense is playing so poorly. Rocky Top Insider tweeted just how poorly UT's offense was playing on Saturday:

Defensive coordinator John Jancek's unit flew around throughout the first half, punishing Ole Miss runners and making things extremely difficult on Heisman-hopeful quarterback Bo Wallace. 

Later in the game, those fresh legs were gone.

Though the Rebels ran just 16 more plays than the Vols (78 to 62), UT's defenders were in such high-stress situations all night, it finally took its toll.

The Rebels tacked on a garbage touchdown within the final 10 seconds to make it look worse, but that didn't matter. By then, Tennessee's star defenders had long seen their strong games go for naught yet again.

The late lull didn't sit well with UT sophomore linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin, a sentiment echoed in his comments, courtesy of Tennessee Football:

Still, you can't pin the loss on the defense. That group is good enough to hang in games with most of the teams the Vols play, but the defenders simply can't do it by themselves. 

This year has been the exact opposite of the 2012 season under Derek Dooley, when the Vols trotted out a dynamic offense, but with a Sal Sunseri-led defense that was so poor it didn't matter.

Now, it's the offense's turn. On one hand, the Vols are extremely young and inexperienced. On the other, there has been no progress on the offensive line, and Worley is gone after this season. 

So, Tennessee has to take a long, hard look at its personnel and scheme, or the Vols will remain stuck in this endless rut it can't seem to get past. The team can take some pointers from A.J. Johnson. Vol Photos shared an on-field shot of Johnson and his tackles stat, while Tennessee Football tweeted Coach Jones' comments, highlighting his conversation with Johnson about the need for his leadership:

Though six wins seem so far away right now, the Vols can still get there. They've got winnable games against South Carolina, Missouri, Vanderbilt and Kentucky remaining on the schedule. 

But they've got to get the defense some help, or they'll be watching bowl season once again.

All stats 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.