BRISTOL, Tenn. - Tennessee created a reputation for itself last season as a football team unable to finish games.
So far this season the Volunteers are having trouble starting games.
After losing four games by a combined 17 points in 2015, Tennessee trailed the first two games of 2016 by a combined 24 points, but the Vols showed no signs of panic and overcame early double-digit deficits en route to the 2-0 start expected from this team.
On Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway, Tennessee spotted Virginia Tech a 14-0 lead in the first quarter before ripping off 31 straight points and outscoring the turnover-prone Hokies 45-3 during a stretch of two-plus quarters.
"We always talk about staying the course," coach Butch Jones said after the game. "We just have to learn how to start faster. (Trailing) 14-nothing in this type of environment, the crowd's going crazy - it could be intimidating. Our players, they embraced it, and we made some plays when we needed to in critical moments of the game."
Similar slow starts will doom Tennessee if they continue during the brutal four-week stretch of Southeastern Conference games following this week's visit from Ohio (1-1), which trounced hapless Kansas by 16 points on Saturday.
Tennessee had enough talent to overcome deficits of 13-3 against Appalachian State and 14-0 against Virginia Tech and beat those teams while not playing to its full potential, but the same approach may not work against Florida or Alabama at home or in hostile road environments at Georgia and Texas A&M.
The veteran Vols still have shown impressive poise coming back from early deficits.
"In the first quarter," quarterback Josh Dobbs said, "there's really no reason to panic. We knew that we were going to have to score more than 14 points in order to win this ballgame. It's just that expectation and that confidence throughout the unit that we'll be fine. We'll go out and we'll make our plays. Our time will come."
Beyond figuring out and eliminating the reasons for the poor starts to games, the Vols left the "Battle at Bristol" with one main injury and ongoing concerns on the offensive line.
Star linebacker Darrin Kirkland Jr. went down in the third quarter with an ankle injury, and the sophomore wore a protective walking boot after the game. Jones will have an update on Kirkland's status today after the player was further examined on Sunday, but it appears very unlikely Kirkland will play against Ohio.
Backup and former Baylor School standout Colton Jumper replaced Kirkland against the Hokies, but Tennessee could look into other options this week, and one scenario surely to be speculated upon is moving Jalen Reeves-Maybin to middle linebacker and playing Cortez McDowell alongside him.
"We've just got that next-man-up mentality," said Reeves-Maybin, who was ejected for targeting in the first quarter of the opener. "I think we showed that last week (when) Cortez stepped up and played for me. I feel like it's like that for the whole room. Everyone has a job to do. Our motto in the linebackers' room is to be smart and tough. Those are two things that you have to have to get on the field, and I feel like everybody in our room has that."
Tennessee's offensive line was more consistent and physical than in the opener, but there were moments where the unit looked like a liability.
The Vols rarely have rotated on the offensive line in the past, but they used three different lineups Saturday night. Only left tackle Drew Richmond, left guard Jashon Robertson and Jack Jones, who came off the bench to play at right guard in two of those lineups, stayed in the same position. Dylan Wiesman (right guard and center), Coleman Thomas (center and right tackle) and Brett Kendrick (both tackle spots) all played multiple spots.
In his second career start, Richmond looked more like a redshirt freshman than he did in his debut, while Jones appeared to prove himself when again given an opportunity.
The return of Chance Hall, who underwent knee surgery in mid-August and faced a four-to-six week timetable for recovery, also looms.
"I'm definitely aware of the players on the field," Dobbs said. "Being the quarterback, you have to know each guy that's on the field and you have to be locked into the game plan, the plays called and everything. But at the end of the day, we talk about with the O-line, we don't have a five-man O-line.
"Each person on the O-line has to be able to come in and make an impact, and that's what they were able to do tonight."
Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com.