Joshua Dobbs' Return to Form Keeps Tennessee Alive in SEC East Race

Tennessee finally took the training wheels off quarterback Joshua Dobbs again on Saturday, and the Volunteers offense took off in the process.

The senior dual-threat signal-caller got back on track last weekend in a blowout victory over Tennessee Tech. He missed just one of his 13 passing attempts and threw three touchdowns. In Saturday's 49-36 win over Kentucky at Neyland Stadium, Dobbs one-upped himself.

For the first time since the Texas A&M game, offensive coordinator Mike DeBord leaned heavily on designed runs for Dobbs, calling 12 of them. Dobbs responded by leading the team with 147 rushing yards on 14 carries and added 223 passing yards to go along with five total touchdowns.

That dynamic form is the one Dobbs displayed as one of the conference's most electric early-season players.

Tennessee still needs help from LSU, which has to beat Florida for the Vols to make it to Atlanta's SEC Championship Game. But if Dobbs continues to play at this level, UT will take care of its remaining business against Missouri and Vanderbilt without any concern.

Neither of those teams is beating the Vols with this kind of effort from Dobbs.

Ever wonder why head coach Butch Jones sticks with his longtime quarterback even through the hard times? It's because of his ability to play the way he did against Kentucky. He's difficult to stop.

With the running back tandem of Alvin Kamara (128 rushing yards) and John Kelly (94 rushing yards) healthy and carrying their share of the load as well, the Vols offense was unstoppable. 

UK won time of possession by nearly 11 minutes, but that was due chiefly to Tennessee's explosive rushing attack not needing long to accumulate touchdowns. 

Credit Dobbs. He hasn't been himself for whatever reason recently, and Tennessee's offense has sputtered because of it. How he goes, the Vols go. 

In consecutive losses to Alabama and South Carolina, Dobbs completed just 28 of 53 passes for one touchdown and three interceptions combined. He also had 19 carries for minus-four yards.

Sure, a big part of that was the Crimson Tide's incredible defense, but Dobbs' worst game of the season came against the Gamecocks. After a bye week, Tennessee came out unprepared and unmotivated. Dobbs personified that sleepwalking state of the team.

He seems to have left that poor performance in the dust.

Not only did Dobbs put up gaudy numbers against the Wildcats, but he also made key plays with his arm and feet. 

Kentucky's run-heavy offense wouldn't go away throughout the second half. But when it closed the Vols' lead to 35-22 early in the fourth quarter, Dobbs completed a pass to receiver Josh Malone. He then took the game into his own hands, sprinting 45 yards down the sideline to put the game out of reach.

The Wildcats will be happy to see Dobbs graduate, as he's dominated them throughout the past three seasons, as noted by the Lexington Herald-Leader's Mark Story:

He also displayed a little bit of trickery, completing a flea flicker to Malone for a touchdown as well. Everything worked.

Kentucky coach Mark Stoops' defense didn't have much of an answer for anything the Vols did Saturday, but Dobbs was the prime culprit. 

He threw into double coverage for his conference-leading 12th interception on a poor decision late in the first half. Dobbs was trying to lead the Vols down to a last-minute score, but he looked like the struggling quarterback who played against the Tide and Gamecocks.

But he didn't show any signs of that mistake after the break. He was close to flawless in the second half. In the process of his stellar game, Dobbs broke Jimmy Streater's all-time school rushing touchdown record for quarterbacks.

With 1:10 left in the game, Kentucky needed to stop the clock. But Dobbs ran for a first down. He also used some of those aerospace engineering brain cells to slide down in bounds and allow the Vols to end the game.

It was only one of his heady plays on the day.

If he plays anything like he did this week against Missouri in next week's home finale, the Vols won't have any trouble dispatching the Tigers for the second consecutive season.

Vanderbilt coach Derek Mason and star linebacker Zach Cunningham can shake up some things to slow down Dobbs. But the quarterback puts a ton of pressure on all defenders with his ability to tuck and run.

DeBord needs to keep this game plan moving forward in order to put opposing defenses on their heels.  

There's no questioning Dobbs' intelligence or leadership. Earlier this week, he was inducted into Omicron Delta Kappa, a leadership honor society that counts former Tennessee quarterback Peyton Manning and legendary Volunteers basketball coach Pat Summitt among its members, per USA Today.

Dobbs celebrated those honors by showing out on the football field as well.

It was a welcome sign for the Vols, who've been needing their quarterback to return to the form that made him a dynamic, dual-threat weapon. 

Tennessee may be the SEC East's best hope to put up a fight in the conference championship game. That is, as long as Dobbs plays the way he did Saturday and the Vols get the help they need from LSU. 

Quotes and information gathered firsthand unless otherwise noted. Statistics obtained from cfbstats.com unless otherwise noted.

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