Film study: Inside Jarrett Guarantano's success, and how Rico Dowdle shredded UT Vols

Tennessee squandered an opportunity Saturday for a road victory that would have put the Vols on better footing for a bowl bid.

Despite executing a smart offensive game plan and leading for most of the game, Tennessee lost 27-24 to South Carolina.

Here are five observations that stood out from a film review of the game.

Jarrett Guarantano picks apart Gamecocks with short passes

Jarrett Guarantano set a career high for completions. Tennessee's sophomore quarterback was 27-of-39 passing for 207 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions.

Guarantano completed 16 of 18 passes thrown to targets at or behind the line of scrimmage. Those short, quick passes generated 113 yards, including four that gained more than 10 yards.

That's good work by Vols receivers to get yards after the catch, and it was a smart move by offensive coordinator Tyson Helton to put the Vols in position to take advantage of South Carolina's sagging pass coverage. The quick passes also compensated for shaky pass protection.

Guarantano was sharp on intermediate throws, too. He completed 10 of 14 passes in which his target was 1 to 10 yards beyond the line of scrimmage.

He was 1 of 7 on throws with his target more than 10 yards past the line of scrimmage. The lone completion was a 5-yard touchdown to Eli Wolf, who was toward the back of the end zone — about 12 yards from the line of scrimmage — when he caught Guarantano's pass. 

Rico Dowdle has his way with the Vols

South Carolina's Rico Dowdle tallied a season-high 140 rushing yards on 14 carries. He often reached the second or third level of UT's defense before he was touched.

Unofficially, 104 of Dowdle's yards came before contact. On a 25-yard run off left tackle, he raced 20 yards before getting touched.

Later, he bounced a run up the middle off to the left. Linebacker Jordan Allen failed to set the edge, and safety Nigel Warrior took a bad route to Dowdle, who ran 15 yards untouched en route to a 21-yard gain.

Finally, he took a toss off the left side untouched 30 yards, outrunning linebacker Darrin Kirkland Jr. before getting pushed out of bounds by Warrior.

Tennessee's linemen did little to disrupt or even slow down South Carolina's running attack, and its linebackers and defensive backs often got sucked into blockers like they were magnets or simply took poor angles to the ball carrier.

Vols use same five linemen

Tennessee stuck to the same offensive line on each of its nine drives. From left to right, the line featured Marcus Tatum, Jahmir Johnson, Ryan Johnson, Nathan Niehaus and Drew Richmond.

The line was more effective in creating running lanes than in pass protection.

Carlin Fils-aime used in clever ways

It didn't take Carlin Fils-aime long to become involved in UT's offense after moving from cornerback to running back in practice last week. He'd played running back in 2016 and '17.

Helton deployed Fils-aime in unique ways.

First, he was the left wingback in a double-wing formation, with a tight end to the right side. Fils-aime went in motion and gained 9 yards on a sweep to the right.

Later, he lined up in the slot with Guarantano in the shotgun and a running back to Guarantano's right. Fils-aime motioned toward Guarantano, taking a handoff off right tackle. That play was stuffed for a 3-yard loss.

Finally, Fils-aime lined up to the right in the slot near a pair of tight ends. After Guarantano took the snap, it looked like he might toss to tailback Tim Jordan, who headed to the right. Instead, he tossed left to Fils-aime, who followed blocks from Wolf and wide receiver Tyler Byrd into the end zone on a 14-yard run.

Tennessee misses Micah Abernathy

The Vols would benefit from the return of safety Micah Abernathy. He missed the past three games with an ankle injury. Trevon Flowers likely would have been the first option to replace Abernathy, but he missed the past three games with a broken collarbone.

Shawn Shamburger started two games in place of Abernathy before Todd Kelly Jr. started against South Carolina. Neither player was particularly effective.

UPON REFLECTION:Jeremy Pruitt says Rico Dowdle 'definitely' fumbled on key play during Vols' loss to USC

ADAMS:Vols are where we thought they would be. Here's how Tennessee can finish strong

SEEING YELLOW:Vols' penalty issues past two weeks fixable before Charlotte

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