QUARTERBACKS (A-)

Erik Ainge executed the offense flawlessly save one pass behind a receiver that was tipped and intercepted. Ainge got rid of the ball quickly en route to an 11-for-17, 291-yard, four-touchdown performance. Jonathan Crompton looked good in his limited time, completing two of three passes for 7 yards and a first down.

RUNNING BACKS (A-)

Arian Foster was solid, hanging onto the football and rushing for 69 yards on 17 carries. Montario Hardesty showed his talents on a 43-yard run on which he broke out of the pack. LaMarcus Coker sliced for 53 yards on 11 carries. David Yancey had three carries for 13 yards but fumbled. Cory Anderson's blocking wasn't overly impressive.

WIDE RECEIVERS (A-)

Robert Meachem showed why most teams (not Cal) double cover him, scorching the Bears for 182 yards and two TDs on five catches. Jayson Swain ran a perfect route for a 50-yard TD. Tight end Chris Brown had a 12-yard TD catch and made a lunging catch for 19 yards and a first down. Brown had a drop and so did fellow tight end Brad Cottam.

OFFENSIVE LINE (A)

Perhaps the key to the game, the line protected extremely well in not allowing any sacks and opened running lanes throughout most of the game against a highly touted defensive line. David Ligon and Arron Sears had holding penalties, but overall the unit played clean and picked up blitzes. No motion penalties, either.

DEFENSIVE LINE (A)

Justin Harrell provided a push throughout and the Vols' ends were much more active and efficient than they'd shown in preseason scrimmages. Cal running back Marshawn Lynch was most often forced to make his first cut deep in his backfield. Excellent backside pursuit. Matt McGlothlin was offsides and Harrell lined up in the neutral zone once.

LINEBACKERS (A-)

Jerod Mayo was a weapon, sacking Cal QBs three times and making seven tackles. Mayo's speed and backside pursuit were factors in containing Lynch. Ryan Karl proved his mettle with nine tackles, many of them strong hits. Marvin Mitchell had seven tackles, including two for loss. Karl had a pass-interference call against him.

SECONDARY (A-)

Inky Johnson got beat on Cal's first play but responded with an interception and physical run support. Jonathan Wade was solid on the other corner but he dropped an interception. Demetrice Morley laid an impressive hit on Lynch in the open field in addition to running down Justin Forsett. Antwan Stewart had an interception, but missed a tackle on Cal's TD pass.

SPECIAL TEAMS (A-)

Britton Colquitt averaged 41.4 yards on five punts, and buried two inside the 20 including one at the Cal 6. Coverage units were impressive, holding Lynch to 45 yards on two kick returns and DeSean Jackson to 16 yards on three punt returns. Morley had an open-field tackle in coverage, downed a punt at the 6 and recovered Cal's onside kick.

COACHING (A+)

The Vols' game plan was flawless. Offensively, David Cutcliffe neutralized Cal's strengths while exposing weaknesses. The plan wasn't complicated, but Cutcliffe used all of the field, spread the ball and maintained execution. John Chavis' defense sent messages with big hits on receivers and kept Cal's QBs on the run, all the while containing Lynch.

OVERALL (A-)

The only criticism one could have is the Vols didn't finish as strong as they started, and it could be argued it was wise to pull starters to prevent an injury. UT played hard, focused and executed the coaches' schemes better than anyone could have anticipated. A promising start, no doubt. These relatively inexperienced Vols figure to get even better as the season progresses.