SEC Football: 3 Things We Watched For, Week 2 Recap

3. Will Tennessee Rebound?

Yes, they absolutely will, although it didn’t look like they were going to at first. The Volunteers fell into a 14-0 hole before their offense finally caught fire. Led by quarterback Joshua Dobbs, the Volunteers would ultimately win the game 45-24.

Dobbs was great in this game. He accounted for three passing touchdowns along with two rushing scores. For the math impaired out there, like myself, that’s 35 of the Vol’s 45 points. Dobbs was dominant, particularly on the ground, where he averaged an incredible 7.6 yards per carry on 14 attempts.

Jalen Hurd was also a force to be reckoned with in this game. He averaged 4.5 yards per carry on 22 attempts for a total of 99 yards.

So what does this performance mean for Tennessee? It means they are back on track. The Volunteers were lauded as a potential playoff team prior to the start of the season. But then they laid an egg against Appalachian State. This performance shows how high their ceiling is.

The Volunteer offense is dominant when they can run the football effectively. The question is, what happens when they can’t. Thus far in the season, neither team they’ve played has been stout enough to find out.

We will most likely not found out until the Volunteers host Florida on the 24th. That should be a pivotal game in the SEC East race. If the Volunteers can win it, they’ll only have the Georgia Bulldogs standing in their way. And Georgia showed against Nicholls that they are extremely vulnerable.

Next: Number Two