Joe Milton struggles early in Tennessee blowout win over Virginia

NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - SEPTEMBER 2: Joe Milton III #7 of the Tennessee Volunteers calls a play against the Virginia Cavaliers in the second half at Nissan Stadium on September 2, 2023 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Carly Mackler/Getty Images)
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - SEPTEMBER 2: Joe Milton III #7 of the Tennessee Volunteers calls a play against the Virginia Cavaliers in the second half at Nissan Stadium on September 2, 2023 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Carly Mackler/Getty Images)

The Tennessee Volunteers were able to beat the Virginia Cavaliers, 49-13. What can Tennessee fans take away from this game?

The Volunteers struggled a bit in this game considering the opponent. They started the game out with a touchdown drive but traded punts with the Cavaliers until they were able to score their second touchdown of the game.

They ended up scoring another touchdown before the half. With the score, 21-3, the game was looking over. In the second half, that game was basically over as Tennessee boosted the score to 35-3 early in the third. While the Volunteers’ offense ended up with 49 total points for the entire game, Joe Milton and the rest of the offense struggled in the first half of the game considering the opponent.

What is the outlook for Tennessee after this game?

The offense for Tennessee needs to be worked on after this game. Milton didn’t play amazingly. Some of this is because the wide receivers weren’t able to make a play on solid balls in this game. Still, Milton didn’t really manage the offense very well in this game.

On the first offensive drive of the game, Tennessee lost the ball on downs due to the fact that Milton didn’t throw a pass past the first down marker on third down. He also threw two incompletions on his second drive of the game. This type of play would continue for the rest of the first half.

It is a bit unexpected to have this from Milton due to the fact that this is his sixth season as a college QB. Still, Tennessee has plenty of time to get it right before they end up playing someone of their talent level. The Volunteers really should be fine until they play South Carolina on September 30th.

They will have a bit of a test against Florida, but with the Gators’ own issues, it should be too much of a challenge for a Tennessee team that is still one of the better teams in the country. If the Volunteers want to jump off their successful Orange Bowl win last season, they will need to reboot their offense as it was their bread and butter last season.