Game Prep: Tennessee's High Octane Offense
The South Carolina Gamecocks' defense has been a rollercoaster this season, coming up clutch in impactful moments against teams like Kentucky and Texas A&M but coming up short against teams like Arkansas, Missouri, and Florida.
It won't be easy for the Gamecock's defense to end their recent skid of ho-hum performances, as the Tennessee Volunteers have taken the college football world by storm this season due to their high-flying offense.
What is it that makes the Tennessee Volunteers so dangerous when they have possession of the football?
What They Do Pre-Snap
The first thing that sticks out about the Volunteers is their lightning-quick pace. Unless caught in apparent passing situations, they are looking to line up as soon as the ball is spotted, which can catch an opposing defense on their heels.
The Volunteers also like to use an unorthodox alignment with their wide receivers in terms of just how wide they line up compared to where the ball is located on the field, with the outside receivers lining up closer to the sideline than most wideouts, with every other receiver falling into place on the interior.
This forces opposing defenders to have to defend every blade of grass horizontally and vertically and make sound plays in the open field.
The Use Of Eye Candy
Tennessee is by no means a gimmicky offense as some critics, but they do utilize some simple fake-out concepts to try and fool opposing defensive fronts. You see this primarily when they use a split back set. This signals either a run or some action fake.
The Volunteers will also run some jet motion concepts, which can give them a numbers advantage on screen passes or be used to shift the defense to one side of the field.
For South Carolina's defense to combat these aspects, they'll need to try not to allow Tennessee to drive down the field with ease continuously. They'll have to force the Volunteers to convert third-down attempts while forcing turnovers.
If the Gamecocks want to pull off the massive upset, they'll likely have to find ways to stall and steal possessions to keep this offense off the field at all costs.
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