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Nobody is giving Tennessee chance to beat Oregon on Saturday. And why would they? The Ducks are 31-3 at home in the last five years and are currently the second-ranked team in the nation. The Vols, meanwhile, come into the game unranked, sporting a 4-20 record (assuming my quick math is accurate) in the last five years away from Neyland Stadium. The latest Vegas odds at the time of this writing have the Ducks as 28.5-point favorites.
But Butch Jones and the Vols, they believe.
We believe, just like any opponent, that we’re going to win the football game. But at the end of the day it comes down to execution and it comes down to individuals winning their one-on-one match ups and that competitive spirit, that competitive greatness, that we talk about. It’s not allowing the external factors to factor in the football game. A third of our football team will be making their first road trip so we have to do a great job of just staying locked in and focused on every single play.
When asked during his interview with 104.5 The Zone yesterday, Jones said of all positions, he believes the play of Tennessee’s defensive line with be most crucial to the Vols’ success.
“I believe it’s our defensive line. We have to be a team that controls the line of scrimmage. When you look at the plan to win, the formula for winning, for beating Oregon, you have to make Oregon earn everything that they get. If you look at the games, if you look at their body of work, for the last two weeks, it’s 21-0 before you know it in the first quarter; they get an opposing offense to turn the ball over—they create a big play on special teams. I think when you look at the transition of Oregon’s football program, I think the biggest difference lies in their overall depth and it’s really evident when you look at the special teams.”
Jones admitted that he and his staff have watched the film of Oregon’s game against Stanford last year when the top-ranked Ducks lost 17-14 in overtime, but acknowledged the Cardinal have great football players who were able to make plays.
Well, you look at everything. We watched the film, but obviously they have great football players and they made plays and they took care of the football. That’s the big thing going into it, is we can’t beat ourselves. We need to piggyback the discipline that we’ve had the last two weeks of not turning the ball over, generating turnovers and not beating ourselves with penalties. Then you couple that with going on the road in a hostile environment to one of the loudest venues in all of college football. Again, everything is going to be tested Saturday.
MO COUCH IS INELIGIBLE AND ISN’T EXPECTED TO TRAVEL
As has been reported, Mo Couch has been declared ineligible and Tennessee’s compliance staff is working through the details. As of right now, he will not make the trip to Oregon, which in an afternoon game in 90-degree heat, will certainly have an impact on Tennessee’s depth. The good news is Jacques Smith will return, adding speed to the outside. Trevarris Saulsberry will see more action in Couch’s absence.
Don’t expect to see Curt Maggitt or Corey Vereen on Saturday. Both are likely a week away from seeing game action.
You can download or listen to the entire Butch Jones interview here: 3HL Butch Jones Interview.
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