Tennessee Volunteers vs Ohio State Buckeyes Final Thoughts

Tennessee and Ohio State are just hours away from kick-off and here are the final thoughts before the game begins.

It’s finally game-day and the Vols are ready for war as they take on the Ohio State Buckeyes in The Shoe.

The game kicks off at 8 PM EST with a win-or-go-home scenario as this is the first playoff game in program history for the Vols.

There are many things to pay attention to and many things the game can be determined by.

Here are the final thoughts leading into kick-off later today.

Which Offensive Line Can Neutralize Pressure The Best?

Tennessee is known for their pressure. Having two of the best edge rushers in the nation with Joshua Josephs and James Pearce Jr. it becomes a problem for offensive linemen to hold up. However, Ohio State has some great success as well with JT Tuimoloau and Jack Sawyer having a dominant presence off the edge. The offensive line will be asked to complete a big task as they will hope to keep their QB’s jersey clean and sign their name on the Rose Bowl ballot.

Who Can Play The Cleanest Football?

With Dylan Sampson having fumbling issues in nearly every game since their contest with Alabama and Nico Iamaleava having his early-in-the-season struggles, one could question how they can avoid turnovers against arguably the best defense they could face. However, Sampson went two full seasons without fumbling and with a heavy workload on the back the coaches will be very confident in his ability to make plays and play clean football. Iamaleava has thrown 11 touchdowns to one interception in the past five games as he is playing up to his true talent. As for Ohio State, Will Howard will be the question mark as he struggles under pressure and Tennessee is one of the best programs about providing pressure. He didn’t have a great game against the Michigan Wolverines and Tennessee’s defense is statistically better than any defense they’ve seen.

Ohio State’s WRs or Tennessee’s DBs?

If you’re all about star power and that’s what makes football games so great then this is the matchup for you. The Buckeyes have the best wide receiver core in the nation with Jeremiah Smith, Carnell Tate, and Emeka Egbuka. They will take on Jermod McCoy who’s been elite for the Vols, Rickey Gibson, and Boo Carter with some help from fan favorite Will Brooks and Andre Turrentine back deep. This is the biggest test for the Vols since Alabama and Ryan Williams came to town and the Vols handled that situation well.

OTHER TENNESSEE NEWS

Join The Community:

Follow Caleb Sisk On Twitter: @CalebSisk_
Follow Tanner Johnson On Twitter: @JohnsonTanner23_
Follow Blake Schowalter On Twitter: @BlakeSchowalte1
Follow Jonathan Williams On Twitter: @DR_JWill
Follow Evan Crowell On Twitter: @EvanVCrowell
Follow John Anthony On Twitter: @JAntSports

Follow Our Website

Make sure to follow our website Tennessee on SI.