With two veteran starters nursing injuries, the first unit struggled to sustain drives at times but also didn’t dig too deep into coordinator Derek Dooley’s collection of plays and formations. Tigers coach Barry Odom described the offensive game plan as “really, really vanilla.”
Matched against the No. 1 defense on eight different possessions, the No. 1 offense scored a couple touchdowns on the ground, both short Larry Rountree runs, but mostly stalled without getting deep past midfield. In his first preseason scrimmage since joining the team in January, quarterback Kelly Bryant didn’t have two of his most important playmakers: slot receiver Johnathon Johnson sat out because of a sore foot while All-Southeastern Conference tight end Albert Okwuegbunam watched from the sideline.