Tennessee's Defense Must Make Major Improvements to Compete vs. SEC

A few minutes before Tennessee's much-hyped 2015 season opened against Bowling Green, it was announced that secondary coach Willie Martinez would be forced to miss it due to committing a minor NCAA infraction.

The Volunteers defensive backs didn't show up till late, either.

Opening the year in the NFL's Tennessee Titans' home stadium, the Vols made Bowling Green's corps of receivers look like NFL pass-catchers for much of the first three quarters in what wound up a worrisome 59-30 win.

If the MAC's Falcons are able to do this to UT, what are the Vols going to do when Oklahoma comes to Neyland Stadium next week or when SEC action cranks up?

Tennessee struggled to guard the deep ball all night playing man coverage. If Saturday isn't a red flag and a major wake-up call, the Vols are in some serious trouble.

Though the Vols (at least on paper) don't play a ton of dynamic quarterbacks, they must tighten things up in a hurry. Still, few signal-callers on UT's schedule will be able to make throws like this, and Bowling Green senior quarterback Matt Johnson made them all day.

The only thing that stopped Bowling Green's receivers was a lengthy lightning delay.

After that, UT seemed to make some adjustments in what essentially wound up being an 80-minute second halftime and settled in to allow just 10 second-half points. They allowed just three points in the final 26:33 of the game.

By then, though, palms were sweaty throughout Big Orange Country.

Even after the weather delay, the Falcons stormed down the field twice, settling for a short field goal. Then, on the play that essentially ended the threat—a fumbled running back exchange on 1st-and-goal—the Vols were only the beneficiary of an unforced error.

Tennessee looked great offensively and on special teams, but defense is a worry.

"We've just got to do a better job limiting explosive plays," UT junior cornerback Cameron Sutton told the Vol Network after the game. "We talk about that all the time as a defense."

As poor as the secondary played at times, Jones didn't lay it all on the defensive backs. He said there were issues all over the field.

One of the biggest perceived strengths of Tennessee's team reared its head as a glaring weakness on Saturday. Another didn't look that strong, either.

Johnson shredded UT's cornerbacks with deep ball after deep ball, utilizing the throw-away-from-Cameron Sutton formula to perfection. 

The results? Nine completions of more than 20 yards in what turned out to be one of the worst defensive back performances in recent memory. For three quarters, it was almost reminiscent of a nail-biting 55-48 win over a bad Troy team in 2012 when Sal Sunseri was defensive coordinator.

OK, maybe it wasn't quite that bad.

But the symmetry was a little bit alarming for the Vols. That was the last year that UT was ranked in the polls—the same No. 25 before an early-season Florida matchup that the Vols lost.

Nobody is suggesting that a season with so much promise will wind up like that one; it shouldn't. But UT must get its defensive struggles fixed in a hurry in the wake of worry. High-octane Oklahoma comes to Neyland Stadium next week, and they've got more weapons than the Falcons.

The Vols will have Martinez back, and Todd Kelly Jr. will be out there for a whole game. Sophomore cornerback Justin Martin may play a bigger role with another week of practice under his belt.

Jones told the media after the game that not having Martinez in the coaching booth was a big blow.

Equally frustrating for Tennessee was its vaunted pass rush. 

There weren't expected to be a plethora of sacks against a Bowling Green offense known for getting the ball out quickly, but it didn't do that Saturday. Instead, Johnson had time to sit back in the pocket, rolled away from pressure and consistently hit receivers downfield.

That lack of a pass rush had a direct effect on the secondary, but UT's defensive backs had plenty of problems on its own. 

Though Sutton had a sterling game on the back end (as well as in the punt return game), he was the only one. Emmanuel Moseley and true freshman Micah Abernathy were victimized numerous times by Bowling Green receivers.

After the Falcons went for it on 4th-and-4 from inside their own 20 in the first half, converting with an 18-yard run that shell-shocked the Vols, receiver Gehrig Dieter burned Moseley twice consecutively, the last going for a deep touchdown.

It was surprising when Moseley turned around that he didn't have scorch marks on the back of his jersey.

When UT tried to adjust by getting extra safety help over the top, it often arrived too late until Kelly entered the game in the third quarter.

Martinez being out hurt, but losing three key contributors in the preseason was definitely felt in a huge way, too.

Starting nickelback Rashaan Gaulden broke his foot and is lost for the season, starting safety LaDarrell McNeil is out for an indeterminate amount of time with a neck injury and Kelly Jr. missed a chunk of the game after complications following a tonsillectomy. 

The Vols got a lot younger in the secondary, and that definitely showed.

Once Kelly came in after the long delay, Tennessee got a lot better on the back end. Maybe his return will help significantly with the Sooners coming to town.

If Saturday is any indication, they'll need it.

All stats gathered 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.