Big Orange Report November 27, 2025

 

Swamp Jinx No More

The haunting memories of futile trips to the home of the Florida Gators were filed away in football history book on Saturday night as the Tennessee Volunteers smacked down the home team with an incredible first half performance. The Big Orange dominated a team that had, just a week before, almost knocked off sixth ranked Ole Miss on the Rebels home turf.

Our Secret Weapon

In last week's column, we suggested this: Secret Weapon-- Junior tight end Ethan Davis could be the joker in the deck for the Vols, especially if Kitselman can't play. Davis is an athlete, strong and can catch the ball in the middle of the field. If Aguilar is under constant pressure, Davis could be a reliable safety valve for the Vol passer.

Davis stepped up in this big victory like a young man on a mission. He grabbed five passes for 72 yards and had a splendid catch and run for a touchdown to help ignite the offensive fireworks in the early stages of the game.

Running Game Returns

The Vol infantry attack has sputtered and spun its wheels as of late but in this dominating offensive performance, Tennessee rushed for 248 yards on the ground, averaging almost five yards per carry. DeSean Bishop led the way, rambling for 116 yards. The running game was a big part of the balanced attack that saw UT amass 452 yards of total offense. Backup Star Thomas joined the happy return of the rushing success with the longest run from scrimmage in this victory. The senior transfer from Duke galloped for 52 yards to set up a Vol touchdown.

Who Were Those Guys

The Tennessee defense has been under the microscopes for weeks but in this important jinx-breaking triumph, the Vol stop troops delivered, perhaps, their best performance of the season to date. Led by the linebacking trio of Jeremiah Telander (10 tackles), Edwin Spillman (7 tackles) and Arion Carter (6 tackles), the Vol defenders limited Florida to 261 total yards and stopped the home team on third downs. The Gators got first downs only twice when faced with third down situations. The three linebacker set was a new wrinkle and it seemed to confuse Florida's offense for most of the game.

Vanderbilt Confident

The Vols will entertain their in-state rivals on Saturday and the Commodores are oozing confidence and believe that a win over UT might propel them into the 12-team playoff for the national championship. Vandy brushed Kentucky aside in their warmup for the trip to Rocky Top in search of win No. 10. The kickoff is slated for 2:30 CST and will be televised on ESPN.

Key Matchups

Vol pass defense vs. Diego Pavia-- The Vandy quarterback has been on fire as of late. Over the past three games, Pavia has passed for 1226 yards to raise his season total to 2924 yards through the air. Tennessee will need a total team effort against the brash and confident Pavia. This includes the edge pass rushers, the linebackers and of course, the secondary. His favorite target is veteran tight end, Eli Stowers, but Vanderbilt also has some speed on the outside and Pavia will not hesitate to throw the deep ball from any point on the field. He is also capable of reeling off big, chunk yardage on designed running plays and scrambles. Vol edges Josh Josephs, Caleb Herring and Jordan Ross must deliver "prime-time" performances this weekend.

Tennessee running game vs. Commodore front seven on defense-- One thing that will be crucial for the Vols is an ability to keep the football away from Pavia and his offense. A solid ground attack that can chew up some yardage and milk the clock could be pivotal if the Vols are to be victorious. The performance against Florida by the Vol blockers and ball carriers needs to carry over in this confrontation against the 'Dores. The question here is this: how many defenders will Vandy decide to stack in the box in order to stop the run?

The Three Amigos

Quarterback Joey Aguilar has passed for 3145 yards this season and the main reason why is the talent and ability of this trio of wideouts. Chris Brazzell, Braylon Staley and Mike Matthews are one of the best set of pass catchers in college football this season. If Vanderbilt makes a concerted effort to stop the Vol infantry attack, then it will be up to Aguilar and his wide receivers to score enough points to win this football game.

Vol Notes

Early signing day for football is next week and will be in a three day window. Currently Tennessee has 23 verbal commitments and On3/Rivals ranks the class at No. 9 nationally, but just percentage points out of the No. 6 spot on the chart. 

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