National analyst criticizes Tennessee passing game, sees little gap to South Carolina

A national analyst offered a blunt assessment of Tennessee, saying the Volunteers have, in the analyst's words, zero passing game right now, and arguing there is not much difference between Tennessee and South Carolina.

The comparison is the pointed part of the critique. Rather than treating Tennessee as clearly ahead of South Carolina, the analyst grouped the two together, with the passing game presented as the central reason for skepticism about the Volunteers.

For Tennessee, comments like this frame the question the team has to answer on the field. If the passing game remains the focus of outside criticism, improving it becomes the clearest way to separate the Volunteers from the comparison and change the national conversation.