Living in the land of mouth breathers I've watched their games against Mizzu and Ole Miss. Sony is back and he's running like Chubb pre-injury. Chubb has been bottled up and contained every game other than their first, similar to Hurd. Word is he's got an ankle injury but no word on severity. Their third string back, Herrien, is a young stud. They have talent across the board and a solid, proven, coaching staff but they haven't gelled yet and that's obvious. I've said it all along, they will win games they aren't supposed to and loose game they are supposed to. With that said I'm no coach but have seen their weaknesses and strengths.
Their qb is a freak of a freshman, think Matthew Stafford, and will pick a decent defense apart in one-on-one as they have a couple receivers that can get separation. If the Dline can't get pressure with rushing 3 or 4 then our DB's will be on an island and may get exposed. When teams have rushed 5 is when their QB finds the open receiver. Remember Chaney is their OC and QB coach. They like to use Sony like we use Kamara, out of the backfield with quick passes as he can either truck a defender or juke them. Additionally you can count on the screen pass to be a big part of their game plan. They use a fullback who is very effective catching the ball out of the back field as well.
Our Oline should match up and beat their Dline as the strength of their defense is the line backing corpse. If we can manage to open holes, Hurd and Kamara can have big days. Additionally if Dobbs picks up where he left off reading the run/pass option there will be some big yards gained. One thing I have noticed is their DB's getting burned for big plays deep, this could be a game where Debord takes several shots down field. One other play I look for the Vols to run and run effectively is quick slants as long as the WR's are catching the ball and Dobbs isn't tipping his hand to the linebackers pre-snap.
It's going to be a fun week, GO VOLS!
