Tennessee Vols focus on fixing execution errors

KNOXVILLE — Dave Clawson prepared answers to every problem his Tennessee offense had shown during preseason camp.

But the Volunteers spent much of their season-opening loss at UCLA making mistakes they hadn’t made since he arrived as coordinator in January.

“We had some things pop up that we didn’t execute that we’ve been really good at,” Clawson said Tuesday. “Whether that’s game-one jitters or whatever it is, obviously there’s some problems that popped up that we’ve got to fix.”

Obviously.

The Vols were solid in some areas at UCLA — 5.2 yards per rush, for example — but their successes were underscored by an inability to capitalize on several scoring chances.

Five of UT’s first seven possessions went three-and-out, and another went 13 plays and 51 yards before ending on a missed field goal. The Vols’ first possession of the second half went to the UCLA 6-yard line before Arian Foster’s game-changing fumble, and their next three drives went three-and-out. One of them started just shy of midfield, and another began at the Bruins’ 26.

None of them ended with points.

“We’re better than that,” senior offensive guard Anthony Parker said. “We know we’re better than that.”

UT’s defense and special teams were far from flawless, but the offense could have put the Bruins out of reach well before their fourth-quarter comeback.

“I said all along there’s going to be some bumps in the road, and I just hope those bumps (didn’t) end up costing us a football game,” Clawson said. “To some degree certainly we contributed to the loss, with the amount of three-and-outs and not capitalizing on good field position.”

Clawson said 15 plays “changed the outcome of the game. And certainly, we had our share of them on offense. Whether that’s a new system or breakdowns, it doesn’t matter. There’s no excuse for it, and it’s got to get better.”

Many of UT’s unforeseen missteps took place up front. A line that allowed an NCAA-low four sacks last season surrendered just one against UCLA, but junior quarterback Jonathan Crompton was clearly beaten up by game’s end. At times last season, Erik Ainge left the field without a grass stain.

Head coach Phillip Fulmer said he entered the game concerned about UCLA’s highly touted defensive tackles, but most of the problems came from an unexpected source — the Bruins’ defensive ends.

“The bottom line is we weren’t there for our quarterback,” junior center Josh McNeil said. “We let him get knocked around back there. That was really disappointing.”

Fulmer did note that Crompton was often “too comfortable in the pocket,” and he said the receivers could have helped by running better routes.

“Those things usually happen for reasons other than just the quarterback, or just the line, or whatever,” Fulmer said. “Everybody shared in responsibility.”

Crompton also ran into McNeil on one play, threw several inaccurate passes and bobbled a third-down snap that forced UT to punt.

“I want to see (Crompton) play like he’s capable of playing, fully,” Fulmer said. “Play more consistent. Simple things, like getting the snap on third-and-short, being aware of field-goal range, and not putting himself in a position to get a sack — especially after I just told him, ‘Don’t take a sack.’

“Not throwing interceptions back there, and taking care of the football and managing the game like a good quarterback.”

Crompton said he made his “fair share” of mistakes, but he wanted his focus to move forward to Saturday’s home opener against UAB.

“You can’t change the past,” he said. “But you can always improve from your mistakes. That’s what good players and good teams do.”

Clawson has taken criticism, too, mostly for his play-calling distribution. The Vols threw 42 passes and ran 34 times, and six of the runs were on plays designed for Crompton to throw.

Fulmer and Clawson agreed that hindsight suggested more running plays would have worked, but they stood by their initial thoughts. UCLA played mostly man-to-man coverage and the Vols coaches liked those matchups.

“We had a number of opportunities to get the ball down the field, and we didn’t execute,” Clawson said. “We wanted to sting them deep and back them off a little bit. We thought that would help us run the ball and help us execute the short passing game.”

Deficient execution helped the Bruins intead.