Below is a look at Tennessee’s national stat rankings side-by-side with the counterpart rankings for the Missouri Tigers. Again (we’re saying this a lot), be wary of the numbers, especially Missouri’s, as they’ve only played Alabama so far.
Details below.
When the Vols have the ball
Where’s the opportunity?
It would appear that the Vols should have an opportunity in the passing game, although Missouri’s bad numbers so far against the pass should probably be attributed to having played Alabama. Still, they were better against Alabama’s rushing attack than they were against the Tide’s passing attack, so maybe there’s something to it.
Where’s the danger?
Tennessee did not do well against South Carolina on first downs, and Missouri did quite well defending first down against Alabama. Same story in the run game. If Missouri makes Tennessee one-dimensional by shutting down its running attack, that could spell trouble for the Vols.
Gameplan for the Vols on offense
Pass to open up the run.
Vols on defense
Where’s the opportunity?
Against South Carolina, Tennessee did well defending the run, on first down, and getting into the Gamecocks’ backfield to disrupt plays. Against Alabama, Missouri struggled against all of that.
Where’s the danger?
The Vols did not do well defending the pass against South Carolina, and that appears to be Missouri’s strength.
Gameplan for the Vols on defense
The Vols appear to have a distinct advantage on defense, although, once again, Missouri is probably better than its numbers suggest right now due to only having played Alabama at this point. Still, if Tennessee shores up its pass defense, they should be in relatively good shape.
Special teams
Small sample sizes here, so any conclusions are suspect.
Turnovers and penalties
Again, it’s hard to draw too many firm conclusions here, but one game in, the Vols have protected the ball better than Missouri has. On the other hand, Missouri has been the more disciplined team from a penalty perspective.
Of course, if Banks can exercise a little discipline and not get two personal fouls, the penalty issue mostly goes away.