nicksjuzunk
Coming home soon.
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Tennessee narrowly escaped a loss during the bye-week, after UGA delivered enough misery to last for two weeks the last time the Vols took the field. It was a gut wrenchingly bad performance that left the Tennessee fan base completely gutted, and saw support for Coach Butch Jones fall to a possibly irrecoverable all-time low.
This week, South Carolina travels to Knoxville, a place where they have historically barely been able to win. History is just that... history, and this Vol team does not resemble most of the Tennessee teams in the past. Talent is one thing, but disinterest is another, and that has been on display for two weeks in a row. What can we expect this week?
Keys to Victory:
1. Show up: If Tennessee doesn't want to be playing in this game, doesn't support their coach, is disengaged, etc. Put a fork in it. I'm 50/50 on whether or not this happens.
2. Get Bentley: I've made no secret since last season that I didn't buy the Bentley hype. Truth be told... he's a pretty good quarterback. He takes care of the football and is a slightly above average game manager. He has the ability to put up some yardage, but let's take a closer look.
They have not truly faced a good pass defense yet.
NC State 121st
Mizzou 109th
Kentucky 117th
Louisiana Tech 62nd
A&M 107th
ARK 39th
Tennessee is currently ranked 3rd in passing yards allowed. There is a bit of salt with this stat, as we have faced at least 3 teams that are very run dominant, and when you look at the yards per passing attempt (6.73) and yards per completion (12.47), that 3rd ranking becomes lipstick on a pig. The Vols need to play big here.
2. Turnovers: South Carolina is 13th nationally with a 1.17 turnover margin advantage. They crushed Arkansas last week, with 3 defensive TD's. Skai Moore is a problem for any TN QB that may play. The Vols have a woeful -.67 turnover margin, and rank 104th. The Vols need an edge here, and we can't have any QD specials served up.
3. Win the Run Game: South Carolina running backs don't exactly strike fear in your heart, especially after facing UGA, but the Vols need a clear advantage in the running game, especially with the QB situation being somewhat horrendous.
South Carolina gives up 145 yards per game on the ground, and John Kelly needs to have that on his own, not including contributions from CFA and Chandler. If Tennessee can't get the run game going, it's not going to be good.
4. Start Jarrett: Whatever JG may or not be, QD is certainly not what the Vols are looking for in a quarterback. JG may provide a spark, or he may fail, but QD would almost certainly fail, so at this point... put it in his hands and tell him it's his game this week. The worst thing you could do is start QD, have a disaster, and put in JG against Bama. Give him a week to try to find some traction before Bama scorches the earth.
Prediction: Not sure if Tennessee is going to show up, and I'm not certain even their best would be enough to win this week. I'm in a see it to believe it state of mind, and I can't even remember the last time Tennessee put together a complete game. Maybe the Vols put it together, but show me.
TN 17
SC 24
This week, South Carolina travels to Knoxville, a place where they have historically barely been able to win. History is just that... history, and this Vol team does not resemble most of the Tennessee teams in the past. Talent is one thing, but disinterest is another, and that has been on display for two weeks in a row. What can we expect this week?
Keys to Victory:
1. Show up: If Tennessee doesn't want to be playing in this game, doesn't support their coach, is disengaged, etc. Put a fork in it. I'm 50/50 on whether or not this happens.
2. Get Bentley: I've made no secret since last season that I didn't buy the Bentley hype. Truth be told... he's a pretty good quarterback. He takes care of the football and is a slightly above average game manager. He has the ability to put up some yardage, but let's take a closer look.
They have not truly faced a good pass defense yet.
NC State 121st
Mizzou 109th
Kentucky 117th
Louisiana Tech 62nd
A&M 107th
ARK 39th
Tennessee is currently ranked 3rd in passing yards allowed. There is a bit of salt with this stat, as we have faced at least 3 teams that are very run dominant, and when you look at the yards per passing attempt (6.73) and yards per completion (12.47), that 3rd ranking becomes lipstick on a pig. The Vols need to play big here.
2. Turnovers: South Carolina is 13th nationally with a 1.17 turnover margin advantage. They crushed Arkansas last week, with 3 defensive TD's. Skai Moore is a problem for any TN QB that may play. The Vols have a woeful -.67 turnover margin, and rank 104th. The Vols need an edge here, and we can't have any QD specials served up.
3. Win the Run Game: South Carolina running backs don't exactly strike fear in your heart, especially after facing UGA, but the Vols need a clear advantage in the running game, especially with the QB situation being somewhat horrendous.
South Carolina gives up 145 yards per game on the ground, and John Kelly needs to have that on his own, not including contributions from CFA and Chandler. If Tennessee can't get the run game going, it's not going to be good.
4. Start Jarrett: Whatever JG may or not be, QD is certainly not what the Vols are looking for in a quarterback. JG may provide a spark, or he may fail, but QD would almost certainly fail, so at this point... put it in his hands and tell him it's his game this week. The worst thing you could do is start QD, have a disaster, and put in JG against Bama. Give him a week to try to find some traction before Bama scorches the earth.
Prediction: Not sure if Tennessee is going to show up, and I'm not certain even their best would be enough to win this week. I'm in a see it to believe it state of mind, and I can't even remember the last time Tennessee put together a complete game. Maybe the Vols put it together, but show me.
TN 17
SC 24
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