Stats show how badly Tennessee's touted OL struggled against overmatched UMass defense
The Volunteers were able to pick up a win on Saturday, but fans would have loved to see a much stronger performance.
Tennessee took on UMass Saturday, and the Vols never seemed to get the offense on track in the 17-13 victory. RB John Kelly did pick up 101 yards on the ground, but the offense as a whole managed just 135 yards rushing and 3.5 YPC.
What is noteworthy about the Vols performance is that UMass entered the game with the 119th ranked rushing defense in the nation. It was that same defense that kept the Minutemen in the game all afternoon with 12 tackles behind the line of scrimmage.
Austin Bornheim shared the stat on Twitter:
Not a great game for Vols O-line. UMass' 119th ranked rushing defense had 12 TFLs today. Minutemen had 21 for the season entering today.
— Austin Bornheim (@ABornheim) September 23, 2017
The Minutemen defense also forced a turnover and limited Tennessee to just 29:32 total time of possession.
The Volunteers improved to 3-1 on the season, but they will need to improve their rushing attack moving forward. Tennessee now has four consecutive SEC matchups starting with No. 11 Georgia at home next weekend.