Ad Disclosure
Tennessee thrashed by fans, media for no-show 1st quarter vs. Ohio State
Published:
Tennessee vs. Ohio State was supposed to be the headlining game of the opening weekend to the first-ever 12-team College Football Playoff.
Instead, it looks like a laugher.
The Vols trailed 21-0 after the first quarter and were thoroughly beaten on both sides of the ball.
Offensively, Tennessee amassed just 16 total yards on 13 plays before the start of the second quarter. All 3 of Tennessee’s drives resulted in a punt and the Vols managed just 2 first downs before the end of the period. Nico Iamaleava went 0-for-4 as a passer in the opening stanza.
Defensively, it was arguably worse. Ohio State scored a touchdown on all 3 of its first-quarter possessions. The Buckeyes averaged 10.8 yards per play as quarterback Will Howard completed 10-of-12 passes for 160 yards and 1 touchdown.
Of course, no one — outside of those wearing Scarlet in Columbus, maybe — is happy with the start to this game. This continues the trend of the weekend, which has been uncompetitive College Football Playoff games. Of the 4 first-round contests, only Clemson vs. Texas has been within 1 score in the 4th quarter so far — and the Tigers trailed by 21 at halftime of that game.
Tennessee fans are the most frustrated group, however. Despite extremely strong fan support in Columbus, the Vols have dug themselves what appears to be an unrecoverable hole before even the start of the second quarter.
Josh Heupel, Tim Banks, Iamaleava have received the brunt of the criticism from Vols fans for the disastrous start. Here’s a sampling of that reaction:
Spenser is a news editor for Saturday Down South and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.
