Meanwhile, Ohio (1-1) is shooting to beat a ranked team for the first time.
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Ultimately, though, Lane Kiffin’s Volunteers prevailed in a 34-23 win after taking control as the game progressed.
Tennessee QB Joshua Dobbs: As Dobbs goes, so do the Vols. Tennessee can beat OH without a standout performance from Dobbs, but as the SEC schedule approaches, head coach Butch Jones needs to see if his senior quarterback can win games with his arm. Instead, it has become somewhat of an enigma through the first two weeks of the season.
With a wingback behind the tackle and a stacked line to the right, Virginia Tech shows run.
Tennessee insists it isn’t worrying about Florida just yet. The Vols didn’t take their first lead in that game until the overtime session.
At the same time, the Vols are without linebacker Darrin Kirkland Jr., which could make defending those plays very hard.
Offense, on the other hand, has been a much, much bigger challenge. Mentions the Bobcats held Kansas to 26 rushing yards.
ON THE LINE: Ohio hasn’t allowed a sack all year and has averaged 5.2 yards per carry, but the Bobcats’ offensive line faces a significantly tougher test Saturday. He’s on the watch list for the Ted Hendricks Award, the honor to the top defensive end.
Getting to Dobbs is only part of the equation – you still have to get him on the ground, which is much harder to do – but I think OH will get to him at least a bit.
BALL-HAWKING VOLS: Tennessee forced five fumbles against Virginia Tech and recovered all of them. Quarterback Joshua Dobbs was better last week, especially in the running game. Dobbs might not even be the best player in their backfield.
Barnett is just an absolute animal. “It makes no difference who you are playing”.
Tennessee defensive lineman Shy Tuttle (2) and Virginia. Tennessee’s Derek Barnett, who recorded 10 sacks each in 2014 and 2015, is still seeking his first sack of the season. Some teams might be reluctant to draft him in the first half of the first round because of the meat-market nature of the draft, but whoever gets him will be really glad they did.
“This is a football program that has played on a big stage and has won big football games”, Jones said.
Junior running back Jalen Hurd has rushed for 209 yards and one score. Many of those guys look like power forwards.
Tennessee is a run-oriented offense, and that’s completely understandable with the personnel it has on the current roster. Both offense and defense translated their plays after reading those of Virginia Tech which helped them gain the edge they needed in order to win the game.
Defensively the Vols settled in after a slow start and locked Virginia Tech up a week ago. However, this game against OH could be a potential trap game.
This has all the makings of the classic trap game. “But this is the most important game on our schedule because it’s the next game”.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee wants to continue one streak before the Volunteers think about ending another. It’s a fiery cauldron from hell at night, but a noon game against a smaller-conference opponent sandwiched in between a bunch of huge games makes it fair to wonder how fired up Neyland will be to start the game.
Tennessee hasn’t started off well against its last two opponents. The Bobcats have also only allowed 66 rushing yards per game. But as we grow further and further into the season, we have to start much faster.
Here’s what you need to know about the Bobcats.
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For Tennessee this game should be about exploring options at some positions and ironing out the kinks in others with Florida and the teeth of the SEC schedule around the corner. Tennessee is projected to put up points, but will have the Bobcats get into the end zone three times in a losing effort for Ohio. Will they win the SEC East? Tennessee will be also without Darrin Kirkland Jr. and LaTroy Lewis, which could affect the rush defense of the Vols. The Hokies overcame four fumbles in their opening victory against Liberty, but weren’t able to do the same when they coughed it up five times against 15th-ranked Tennessee last week. Expect this one to be closer than it should be, but not close enough to scare Vols fans the way the Mountaineers and Hokies did. The Vols could have two games against longtime rival Alabama – once in the regular season, and then again in the SEC Championship Game – and how they look in those games would be crucial. But that’s a long way from now, and there are some big boulders on that trail.
