Keys To The Game: How Tennessee Can Kick Off Back Half of the Season with a Win

Keys To The Game: How Tennessee Can Kick Off Back Half of the Season with a Win

Tennessee (2-3) travels to Arkansas (2-3) to kick off the back half of their 2020 season. After starting 2-0, the Vols are now on a three-game skid and this season could get away from them in a hurry on Saturday night if they are not careful. The VR2 on SI Staff shares their keys to the game.

Matt

For me, on Saturday night, it all starts at quarterback, Jarrett Guarantano is going to get the start. He was fine against Alabama, as he did not cost the Vols the game, but the offense was in an obvious protective mode. Tennessee cannot win games doing that, especially against a couple of the teams they face down the stretch. If Guarantano is not on the answer on Saturday, Tennessee has now had ample time to identify a true number two, and there should be no hesitation in going to whoever it might be. It seems that Brian Maurer or Harrison Bailey are the most likely. Regardless of who the quarterback is, Jim Chaney has to open his offense up. He has to get Jalin Hyatt more involved and take shots down the field. Elsewhere, Tennessee has to come up big in the back end on defense. The Vols have not forced many interceptions this season, but they need to do so on Saturday night. The defense is good enough to put Arkansas behind the chains on second and third downs, but they have to make Felipe Franks make mistakes when he airs it out. Tennessee has more talent than Arkansas, in my opinion, but the Razorbacks are playing with an edge. It should be an interesting contest to watch. 

Brandon

Saying that Tennessee's offense has been playing poorly is being kind. The Vols have been astoundingly bad on offense over the last ten quarters, and the overwhelming majority of it comes back to quarterback play. Aside from the mistakes Jarrett Guarantano has made that directly hurt his team, the staff clearly doesn't trust him to throw the ball. That has been evident in Tennessee's play calling. As good as Tennessee's offensive line and running backs are, they cannot win consistently in the SEC being one dimensional. The Razorbacks are going to load the box to stop the run and attack screens and swing passes. Jarrett Guarantano is not a player the Vols can continue to try to hide and hope to win. If the coaching staff is going to continue putting him on the field, he has to help his team win games. It is no longer sufficient to try just avoid losing them. The Tennessee defense can contain the Arkansas offense if they aren't left on the field for the entire game. The offense has to help them out, they have to produce, and that means for Tennessee to win, Jarrett Guarantano has to have an impressive game. Not an impressive game by his standards, but an actually impressive game by the way SEC quarterbacks are graded.

Dale

Offensively-The run game has to be there for this one. There is not enough consistency from the QB play to assume that the passing game would be a difference maker. 

Defensively- Limit big plays and force turnovers. The offense may need a few extra drives, to try to control the clock and lean on what should be a heavy rushing attack. 

Jake

For me, Tennessee has to run the ball successfully. If they can do that enough and establish consistency, I think that gives the Vols a good chance to win.

But Arkansas has an opportunistic defense, especially at linebacker, so Jarrett Guarantano will have to make smart decisions when he does throw. 

So long as Tennessee can rely on simplistic, ground-and-pound football and avoid turnovers, it should be able to win. But, as we’ve seen for Guarantano in the past, any slip-up could be catastrophic.

Defensively, the Vols need more pass rush this week than they’ve had in the first five games combined. Henry To’o To’o will need to key in on Feleipe Franks, who stuck daggers in Tennessee’s defense in his days at Florida. 

Moreover, losing Alontae Taylor in this game won’t help in the secondary, and Jeremy Pruitt has mentioned Keyshawn Lawrence getting earlier playing time. Lawrence and the rest of the Vols’ defensive backs will need to avoid giving up any big plays, or Tennessee could be in for a long night.