KNOXVILLE - The common thread of Tennessee's two best performances on offense this season was the backfield tandem of Alvin Kamara and John Kelly.
The players blocking for them certainly had a hand in the success, too.
The Volunteers went a little more than a month between rolling up 684 yards at Texas A&M and averaging more than 10 yards per play in a 599-yard performance against Kentucky in last week's win.
"We really just played well as a unit," offensive coordinator Mike DeBord said. "Those guys are great running backs, and I think what helped us in this game, too, was just I thought we kept them off balance a little bit with some of the things we did. Our execution up front was really good, and it enabled some big holes."
Tennessee rushed for a season-high 376 yards against the SEC's 10th-ranked rushing defense behind another shuffled lineup on the offensive line.
With right tackle Chance Hall (knee) unable to play, the Vols turned to their sixth different starting lineup with Brett Kendrick going from left tackle to right tackle, Drew Richmond coming in at left tackle, center Coleman Thomas and right guard Dylan Wiesman flip-flopping and mainstay Jashon Robertson staying at left guard.
The lineup had to shift again before the end of the first quarter when Wiesman hurt his ankle and Jack Jones re-entered the lineup at right guard, shifting Thomas to center.
"I was very pleased that they overcame it, but the other thing I was pleased with was just our execution," DeBord said. "I thought that was probably our best game of blocking. It's a different front. That's the thing that always concerns you as a coach is you're going against a different front.
"We call it a Bear front or odd front or whatever, and you don't get a lot of work against that all the time when your own defense is an even team. I just thought overall our guys up front did a really good job that way, and our tight ends did, too."
Tennessee coach Butch Jones said Wiesman's status for the Missouri game is uncertain, while Hall was trying to return to practice Monday.
"He's grinding it out," Jones said, "and he wants to play."
It's been a tumultuous season for Thomas, who's managed an awful start to the season and injuries to both ankles to start games at three different positions (center, right guard and right tackle), and the coaching staff believed he played perhaps the best game of his career against Kentucky.
"He just loves playing the game," DeBord said. "I thought when he started out at guard, I thought he did a really good job. When Dylan went down he went over to center and carried it on. I thought that was probably, looking at it, probably his best game overall. He really did a really nice job."
Richmond also deserves credit for stepping in and playing well.
The redshirt freshman, a former five-star recruit out of Memphis, started the first two games of the season and struggled, and he played in only three of the next seven games, reviving the rumors of his unhappiness from last season.
If Richmond was unhappy about his diminished role, it didn't show in his positive performance against the Wildcats.
"I give Drew a lot of credit," Jones said. "He's been consistent all year long. He's worked very hard in practice. He's learning what it takes to prepare on a week-to-week basis, and every week is a new season in and of itself. You look at what went on in college football this past week. You have to push the reset button every single week. That's got to be your mindset.
"In terms of his performance, I thought he made tremendous progress. I thought he did some very, very good things, not only in the run game but the pass game. I thought his effort was very, very good. I was very encouraged by what I saw, but he's put a lot of hard work into to date, and to see it kind of manifest itself on the field, that was good to see."
Tennessee's offensive line - whichever players end up comprising it - hopes to deliver an encore performance against Missouri's SEC-worst defense.
"These guys have really done a nice job of just staying the course with it," DeBord said, "and working hard at it and just getting better every practice, and we've done that."
Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com.