Tennessee football’s offense has been one of the best in the country ever since Josh Heupel left his perch atop the Central Florida program to take over in Knoxville. The Vols spread offense and ability to create explosive players in the passing game has led to many to call Tennessee’s offense pass heavy or even an air raid attack.
Don’t tell Heupel that though.
“That’s kind of laughable to me, to be honest,” Heupel said of the description. “You look at our ability to run the football since we’ve been here statistically, over the last close to a decade, we’ve always ran the ball really efficiently and effectively.”
Tennessee’s fourth year head coach is correct, of course, and anyone who has frequently watched the Vols during his time as head coach knows it. Former Alabama head coach Nick Saban even talked about it on College Gameday last Saturday, discussing how stopping the run was the most important thing to do against Tennessee.
As Heupel stated, the numbers back it up. Over the last three seasons, Tennessee has ranked second, sixth and first in the SEC in rushing yards per game.
More From RTI: Pair Of Tennessee Football Players Earn SEC Weekly Honors
“We have balance, we have to create big plays in the pass game, but we create those things in the running game, too,” Heupel said. “And I was proud of the physicality that we played with (against NC State) on the offensive line, our tight ends. Running backs played that way too. And same thing on the other side of the football. We liked the way our front seven played at the line of scrimmage. That was a big part of the football game.”
That ability to run the football effectively has carried over into this young season where Tennessee once again ranks first in the SEC in rushing with 276.5 rushing yards per game.
Tennessee manhandled then-No. 24 NC State in the run game Saturday night in Charlotte. The Vols totaled 249 rushing yards on 44 carries. And while Tennessee usually spreads the field and runs it, the Vols actually played an abundance of 12 personnel and simply overwhelmed the Wolfpack with their physicality.
Junior running back Dylan Sampson was particularly effective against NC State, rushing for 132 yards and two touchdowns in the win. Through two weeks, Sampson leads the SEC in both rushing yards (256) and rushing touchdowns (5).
Yes, Tennessee can beat you by throwing the ball all over the field. But no, it is not an air raid attack.
