Mediocrity reigned in Week 1 as my picks went 4-3. **Long, loud fart noise**.
The same can be said about the Vols. I didn’t pick them to win, but I think we all hoped it would be a little more competitive than what it was. It was about as awful of a start to the game as Jeremy Pruitt could have hoped.
In the picks, I got off to a scorching start, going 3-0 in my first three with Auburn covering 2.5, Ole Miss dominating Texas Tech despite being 2.5-point dogs, and South Carolina covering 29.5 against Coastal Carolina. Things sputtered after that with Kentucky-Central Michigan going over 49 (I bet the under), Notre Dame walloping Michigan (I picked the Fightin’ Harbaughs) and BYU beating Arizona despite being 11.5-point underdogs. Alabama covered against Louisville for the final 4-3 tally.
For the Vols, center Brandon Kennedy whiffed on his man on the season’s first snap, and Kenny Bigelow hit Jarrett Guarantano who lateraled Tennessee into a deep hole. It went downhill from there as Will Grier and West Virginia rolled out of the second half to a 40-14 win.
Now, FCS program ETSU and head coach Randy Sanders — yes, the former Vols offensive coordinator — come to town to [hopefully] cure all ills.
There’s nothing UT can do this week to make us feel better about life, but that doesn’t change the Vols needing some style points. So the keys this week will focus on things that NEED to happen for the Vols to give us warm-and-fuzzies, since it would be the program’s worst upset ever to actually lose.
Let’s get on with it.
KEYS
Play the young guys
As we all sat and watched Baylen Buchanan and Micah Abernathy, Jonathan Kongbo and Drew Richmond do what they’ve done in their entire careers, I found myself wanting Pruitt to just put in the new kids and let them take their lumps.
The Vols need to be better than they were against the Mountaineers to beat Florida, and the only way to do that is to upgrade speed and talent. That only can be done through recruiting, but they can do some things with players already on the roster that will help.
There’s no doubt defensive backs Alontae Taylor, Trevon Flowers and Bryce Thompson need to be on the field. JUCO transfer Kenneth George Jr. and possibly even freshman Brandon Davis could provide a spark, too. While it may be asking far too much for J.J. Peterson to see the field this week, he should if he physically can. Will Ignont and Quart’e Sapp getting more reps would be good for the linebacking corps, and DeAndre Johnson/Jordan Allen should get Kongbo’s reps.
It’s time to unlesash Cedric Tillman on offense, and Jeremy Banks needs a few carries, too. Finally, the Richmond experiment needs to fade into the distance. Younger offensive linemen need a crack at those snaps. It’s time.
With redshirts getting to play four games, why not even J.T. Shrout if the Vols are up big late? Let the kid throw some passes.
DWA NOW
The only time we saw Dominick Wood-Anderson catching balls against the Mountaineers, it was a fourth-down touchdown grab. Why not give him, say, six or seven opportunities to catch passes against ETSU?
Jarrett Guarantano played a good game in the losing effort to West Virginia, but he was far from perfect. He missed several reads, and the coaches need to let him know that he’s got a strong junior pass-catcher at tight end who looks like he could be in the NFL next year. He needs to utilize him.
DWA doesn’t do everything perfectly. He’s not the best blocker on the team, and he isn’t a polished route-runner yet. But he’s a weapon, and he’s one UT needs to be a massive part of this offense this week and especially moving forward against better competition.
I was hoping Wood-Anderson would be in the top three Tennessee pass-catchers this year. He’s good enough to be. Play him, and pass to him.
Disrupt the game
Let’s face it: If Tennessee can’t force fumbles, get interceptions and sack ETSU quarterbacks this week, the Vols aren’t going to be able to do it against teams like Florida, Missouri and South Carolina.
They certainly aren’t going to be able to do it against Alabama, Auburn and Georgia.
Yes, UT won the turnover battle against West Virginia, but it was by getting just one fumble. The Vols need to force at least three turnovers against ETSU and sack the quarterback at least three times. The Vols need to mix up some blitz packages and still stay vanilla. Tennessee should be able to stay very basic and wallop ETSU on talent alone.
If that doesn’t happen, it’s going to be a long season. It may be one anyway.
Run for 220 yards
The Kennedy-out-for-the-season news was a big blow this week for the Vols. Even though it was far from an ideal start for UT’s offensive line, there were some bright points against WVU. Now, the center is done, and Pruitt/Will Friend must mix and match yet again.
It looks like Ryan Johnson is going to start in the middle, and guys like Jerome Carvin, K’Rojhn Calbert and Riley Locklear will rep at guard along with starter Jahmir Johnson. It’s important the Vols stay healthy up front and find the right mix that works.
Everything SHOULD work this week. Tennessee’s offensive front must overpower ETSU, and no matter who the Vols run among Tim Jordan, Ty Chandler, Madre London and Jeremy Banks, they should get chunk yardage. There need to be breakaway runs and a dominant performance.
If the Vols can’t rely on the running game some throughout the year, it’s bad news.
Style points
The bottom line is Tennessee needs to win and win big. This needs to be some gaudy number that is a dominant performance on both sides of the ball. The Vols need some big gains, long touchdowns, fun individual performances and a eye-opening score.
Beat this team like you should. Send them home feeling like we felt last week.
Prediction
It’ll be lopsided, but not as lopsided as we want.
Vols 47, Buccaneers 16
LOCKS
Last week, I tried to go with what others told me; chose some numbers over my gut feeling and wound up in mediocrity. This week, we’re going with our first feeling, be darned. By the way, you should play Alabama -36.5 over Arkansas State, too. They’ll cover until they don’t, right?
- Mississippi State -9.5 over Kansas State: Nick Fitzgerald is back this week from his one-game suspension, and while Manhattan is historically a tough place to play, the Bulldogs are really good on both sides of the ball. This is a sleeper team to battle ‘Bama in the West. This one will get out of hand late.
- Memphis -4.5 over Navy: No Riley Ferguson? It wasn’t an issue in the first week for Mike Norvell’s team. The Midshipmen proved last week in Hawaii their defense has major issues, now they’ve come back across country to play another high-scoring attack? Roll with the Tigers.
- Cincinnati +2.5 over Miami Ohio: OK, it’s never this easy. But the Bearcats just went West and beat UCLA. Are you telling me Miami Ohio would beat Chip Kelly? Would you bet on that? Me either. Bearcats win outright.
- Missouri -17.5 over Wyoming: The Cowboys allowed 41 points to Mike Leach’s Washington State team last week, and the Cougars are very young on offense. The Tigers are seasoned, and Drew Lock is one of the best quarterbacks in the country. Mizzou will cover easily.
- Maryland -16.5 over Bowling Green: The Falcons looked good early before allowing 58 points to Oregon a week ago. It’s possible the Terps will have a letdown game after an epic upset of Texas, but they’ll still score enough to cover, even on a sleepwalker.
- Fresno State +2.5 over Minnesota: This is the toughest pick of the week due to the clash of styles. A lot of folks thing the Bulldogs traveling across country to play a hard-nosed, P.J. Fleck-coached team bodes well for the Gophers. Give me Tedford and the high-flying Fresno O.
- TCU -22.5 over SMU: Sonny Dykes will have the Mustangs scoring a lot of points before long, but a 46-23 loss to North Texas a week ago proves they aren’t ready yet. Look for about the same score here from a better team than the Mean Green.