KNOXVILLE—The Vols fell 55-23 to Auburn over the weekend. I took a few looks at the film and graded the performance of each unit. Agree or disagree with this week’s Vol report card? Leave a comment below!

Quarterbacks

As with his first start, there was some good and bad for Josh Dobbs against Auburn. He completed 64% of his passes (16/25) and showed once again that he can make things happen with his legs, even against one of the fastest teams in the nation. Dobbs finished the day with 128 yards passing and 50 yards rushing (he gained 68 on 10 carries but was sacked twice for a loss of 18 yards), but the Vol passing attack failed to complete many passes downfield and several of his longer attempts sailed high. He telegraphed an interception in the third quarter but generally took better care of the football than last week. The freshman signal-caller also gets credit for being comfortable in the pocket, yet knowing when to tuck it and run. Grade: B

Running backs

An overlooked aspect of Saturday’s loss? The Vol rushing attack got back on track against an Auburn run defense which came into the contest giving up 147.7 yards per game on the ground. Tennessee rushed for 226 yards with running backs accounting for 177 yards on 32 carries (5.5 yards per carry). Rajion Neal (124 yards) bounced back from an 8-yard performance against Missouri and ran with determination all day; his 17-yard touchdown run was one of the best from a Vol running back in a long time. Marlin Lane was effective in relief (12 carries for 53 yards). Grade: B+

Receivers/Tight Ends

It was another bad performance from Tennessee’s tight ends. For the third consecutive game, that unit failed to record a catch and struggled to effectively block anyone. Tennessee’s receivers weren’t spectacular, either. Marquez North once again headlined the Vol receivers with five receptions for 58 yards. The rest of the Vol receivers caught just eight passes for 42 yards. Tennessee needs more consistent production from receivers not named North to go bowling. Grade: D

Offensive line

This group had a bit of a bounce back game Saturday and consistently opened up running lanes for the Vol ground attack, but they struggled to protect Dobbs (who was sacked twice and had to scramble multiple times). Tennessee’s offense isn’t explosive enough to overcome penalties, and the offensive line was responsible for several drive-killing flags. They were better than last week but still have to improve for the Vols to win out. Grade: C+

Defensive line

During UT’s three-game losing streak, Tennessee’s defensive line has recorded zero sacks and just half a tackle behind the line of scrimmage. They haven’t contained or disrupted opposing rushing attacks, either. Simply put, they have offered little resistance to opposing offenses. If not for Jacques Smith’s pick-6, they’d get another F. Grade: D

Linebackers

Much like the front four, this group didn’t do much to slow Auburn’s offense. A.J. Johnson led the way with eight stops but let Marshall and Co. run through numerous arm tackles. Brent Brewer wasn’t effective (zero tackles) and Sapp had just two stops on the day. It sounds like a broken record, but they have to be better for the Vols to get to 6-6 and salvage the season. Grade: D-

Defensive backs

Cameron Sutton was another bright spot this week with six tackles and a sack (the first for the Vols since the South Carolina game), but even he missed several tackles. Safety Brian Randolph had eight tackles while LaDarrell McNeil added seven stops and a recovered fumble. Their numbers don’t tell the whole story, though. Along with the rest of the Vol DBs, they struggled to take proper angles and missed too many tackles. It’s not their fault they don’t have speed, but when they are in position, they have to get stops. Grade: C D+

Special teams

The Vols have been more than solid on special teams this year, but Saturday was a record-setting performance and not in a good way. Auburn took one punt and one kick back for a score. Their 312 return yards were the most in school history and their combined 44.85-yard average on seven kick and punt returns set an NCAA record. Looking for a positive? Palardy continued to shine. He averaged 46.6 yards per punt and was 3 for 3 on field goal attempts. If I had a vote for team MVP, he’d get it. Despite Palardy’s performance, this group was so bad covering kicks that they get the worst grade of any Vol unit this year. Grade: F-

Coaching

You can’t coach speed, and the Vols were clearly outmatched in that department, but you can coach tackling—and Tennessee missed more than its fair share. There wasn’t anything the coaches could do schematically to slow Auburn, but their players have to be more physical and aggressive. The Vol defense was on its heels all day waiting on Auburn players to run to by them, and even when they were in position, they often whiffed. Some of that has to go on the coaches as does the more than questionable decision to keep kicking to Auburn’s talented returners. Offensively, the Vols have to find creative ways to stretch the field. They settled for the dink and dunk game when that clearly wasn’t going to get it done. Grade: D