Tennessee football’s blowout win over Chattanooga doesn’t tell us much

Tennessee football played Chattanooga and dominated from the start. Of course, it is Chattanooga, so what did we really learn about the Volunteers?

The Volunteers have become the ugly stepchild of the SEC after losing to Georgia State and BYU to open the season, both happening in absolutely demoralizing fashion. No one has any faith in the Volunteers at this present moment and that isn’t just me being mean or anything like that- it is just the plain truth. Now, after an absolute blow-out of Chattanooga, I am not sure that has changed all that much.

It was a big afternoon for the orange and white, starting on the defensive side of the ball. There were five turnovers for the Tennessee defense- four interceptions and a fumble. It was a big day for that unit, a group that really is going to have to get better if they are going to put up any kind of fight during SEC play. Special teams also made big contributions, including a blocked punt for a touchdown. So, big congratulations to that unit for getting things together.

We saw three different quarterbacks for the Vols — starter Jarrett Guarantano as well as JT Shrout and Brian Maurer. Guarantano is the only one who threw for a touchdown, putting up three in the Volunteers win. The other two didn’t do all that much. The three combined for a 10-for-19 afternoon.

However, it was the running game that really got this game going with 195 total rushing yards and two touchdowns. They didn’t hold the ball longer than Chattanooga did, something that won’t pass against Florida in a week, but they were able to make do with what they had, winning 45-0.

What is important though is that this game teaches us next to nothing about the Volunteers. All it does is show us that they do in fact have the ability to dominate lesser opponents after blowing it against Georgia State to open the season.

What will really tell us if this team has fixed any of their issues will be their game against Florida next week but until then, I don’t buy anything that says this team has gotten better or will be able to keep up with anybody of note.