Matt Simms made a critical mistake when he flung one up under pressure that Oregon's Cliff Harris returned 76 yards to put the Ducks up two scores. Simms again looked like he was staring down his intended targets.

RUNNING BACKS A-

Tauren Poole gashed the Ducks' defense for 141 yards on 15 first-half carries, but he struggled to find running room in second half. David Oku wasn't near as effective.

RECEIVERS B

Freshman Justin Hunter made an acrobatic grab on a 31-yard reception that set up Poole's 1-yard touchdown. Zach Rogers also had a couple of nice catches stepping in for injured Gerald Jones.

OFFENSIVE LINE B

The Vols opened up some holes in the first half, which led to runs of 31, 21, 39, 23 and 17 yards. Those holes closed up in the second half, as UT had to abandon the run game after falling behind. In protection, Simms wasn't running for his life all night.

SPECIAL TEAMS C -

Chad Cunningham's 27-yard punt gave Oregon a short field for the game-tying drive just before half, and Kenjon Barner took a punt back 80 yards for a touchdown. Art Evans forced a fumble in kickoff coverage that led to Daniel Lincoln's second of two field goals.

DEFENSIVE LINE B

Defensive coordinator Justin Wilcox didn't hesitate to rotate his linemen or play them all over the field, lining up Chris Walker off the line, sending the end into coverage and using his front to try to confuse the Ducks. Montori Hughes seemed to respond to the challenge for the second week in a row and was a handful in the middle.

LINEBACKERS C

The Vols often wound up with linebackers needing to cover the Ducks downfield, and the results were mixed. They held their own in the first half until Darron Thomas picked on Savion Frazier over the middle for Oregon's first touchdown. Nick Reveiz was officially back as a sideline-to-sideline tackler, but even his team-leading performance wasn't enough to offset some issues elsewhere.

SECONDARY C+

The secondary handed out some punishment, but with a chance to keep things close it slipped away from them - including an interception Art Evans just missed in the fourth quarter. Eric Gordon's personal foul on a ball that was being juggled in the first half led to a score that helped change the game. Prentiss Waggner was again a playmaker all over the field for the Vols and a steady complement for Janzen Jackson at safety.

COACHING B-

The Vols had a plan in place to spring an upset and shoot down the Ducks, but there was no predicting everything on a wild night at Neyland when the weather didn't cooperate. Dooley showed some confidence in his offense early, rolling the dice on fourth down instead of taking a shot at a field goal that could have given the Vols a nine-point lead. It might not have made a difference later.

OVERALL C+

There was no shame in UT's game during Dooley's second try at the helm, though the score got away from him late. In terms of talent, the Vols were outmatched by the Ducks, but they came out swinging instead of just trying to keep the game close.