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Tennessee’s first half offensive struggles not seen in over 6 decades
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
Tennessee trailed Alabama 7-0 at halftime of their Saturday contest at Neyland Stadium.
The Volunteers’ offense looked unstoppable over the first few games of the season, scoring a combined 191 points en route to a 3-0 start. Over the subsequent three games, though, they’ve averaged just 20.6 points, beating Oklahoma 25-15 and dropping a 19-14 decision at Arkansas before a 23-17 win over Florida.
Those 3 games had one thing in common: the Vols were shut out in the first half. That hasn’t happened since 1963, according to ESPN’s Chris Low:
One of those stats that nobody in orange will want to remember, but Tennessee has now gone three straight games without scoring a point in the first half, first time since 1963. That's courtesy of veteran sports historian David Grim.
— Chris Low (@ClowESPN) October 19, 2024
Tennessee was ranked No. 15 in the country to begin the season, entering the year with high expectations behind redshirt freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava and an electric offense. Iamaleava, for his part, was receiving some Heisman Trophy love from some corners.
That talk has all but dissipated. Sure, the Vols are 5-1 and still in the College Football Playoff chase. But the offense has come back down to earth as they’ve entered the meat of the SEC schedule. If they’re to be a factor during the next 5 matches of the season, things will need to get kickstarted in a big way.
The Tennessee-Alabama game was sloppy to start. We’ll see if either team can pick things up as the match progresses.
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
