KNOXVILLE - Midway through the first quarter of Tennessee's 38-6 whipping of Bowling Green on Thursday night, Volunteers quarterback Joe Milton had so much time in the pocket that he was able to motion to receiver Jalin Hyatt before connecting with him for a 30-yard gain.
If only things could be that comically easy once Southeastern Conference play begins.
Tennessee racked up 475 total yards against the overmatched Falcons of the Mid-American Conference, with 331 of that coming from a ground game headed by running backs Tiyon Evans and Jabari Small, who gained 120 and 117 yards, respectively. Milton rushed 11 times for 56 yards and two touchdowns when sacks are removed from his stat line, but Tennessee's aerial attack was the definition of erratic.
"I thought the run game operated relatively efficiently," Vols first-year coach Josh Heupel said. "I thought the pass game was really hit and miss from us tonight. Some of that was the quarterback decision-making and him being accurate with the football, and some of it was the wide receivers needing to be on the same page.
"We had a couple of opportunities to catch it when we didn't, and we're going to have to be a whole lot more efficient in the pass game than we were tonight."
Milton, the 6-foot-5, 244-pound graduate transfer from Michigan, displayed out of the gate why he won the preseason quarterback competition down the stretch that included Virginia Tech grad transfer Hendon Hooker and sophomore Harrison Bailey. The Vols effectively compiled 133 yards on 20 plays on their first two possessions, reaching the end zone on a Milton 10-yard carry and a Small 1-yard run.
The Vols ran off seven consecutive gains of at least 4 yards on their opening drive, and Milton was 7-of-9 passing for 67 yards through two possessions. From there, however, the Vols went 23 minutes and 45 seconds of game time before scoring a third touchdown against a program that went 0-5 last season and lost by the average score of 45-11.
"There are some decisions in our RPO (run/pass option) game that could be a whole lot better - the adjustments from what you prepare for to what you actually see," Heupel said. "We need to be cleaner in that during the course of a game. There are a lot of ways we are going to get better - players and coaches, all of us together.
"I told our team to enjoy this win. You have to. It's a hard game, but at the same time, we'll come back on Saturday and have the opportunity to get a lot better."
Milton wound up completing 11 of 23 passes for 139 yards and a touchdown, but he was plagued by several dropped passes from receivers, most notably Hyatt. Milton did overthrow multiple receivers breaking free, and he endured three sacks and lost a fumble.
"There were opportunities where he used his feet a couple of times when there were things that were open down the field," Heupel said. "Early in the football game, he operated really efficiently with what we were doing, but there were a lot of things on third down that we need to clean up. We, as a passing unit, didn't play in a way that we're capable of or in a way we're going to need to moving forward."
Said Milton: "There are a lot of things to clean up as an offensive unit, and we'll get it done for sure. The execution on our part is something we can clean up and learn from when we watch film."
Heupel was asked whether he considered switching quarterbacks during Tennessee's drought, but he did not believe there was "anything earth-shattering that felt like you had to make a change."
Hooker entered with 2:33 remaining and led a seven-play, 34-yard series that ended in a Marcus Pierce fumble with 35 seconds left. Bailey did not play.
An obvious advantage to playing on a Thursday is having extra time to prepare for the next game, and Tennessee's ensuing test will be against visiting Pittsburgh on Sept. 11. The Panthers should provide a stout test for the Tennessee offense and its system that Milton loves and believes he will thrive in much sooner than later.
"It's all about playing into space, and when you've got a guy like me who can do it all - it's just all about the execution part of it," Milton said.
Jackson everywhere
Senior safety Theo Jackson may have had Tennessee's busiest all-around evening, racking up 11 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and three pass breakups. The Vols allowed just 219 yards overall, and the Falcons ran a whopping two plays in Tennessee's red zone.
"Overall, we did well, especially in the run game," Jackson said. "We held them to 32 yards rushing, but in the pass game, we've got to tighten things up at the second and third levels."
Odds and ends
Heupel was pleased the lack of pre-snap penalties during Tennessee's debut of its up-tempo attack. ... The Vols are now among the 10 college football programs with at least 850 wins.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524. Follow him on Twitter @DavidSPaschall.