Tennessee Football Preview: Vols Set For Regular-Season Home Finale in Knoxville Against UTEP

The Opponent: The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) was founded as the State School of Mines and Metallurgy in 1913. The school currently enrolls over 25,000 students. UTEP began playing football in 1914 and was a founding member of the Border Conference in 1931. The Miners now compete in Conference USA but will be moving to the Mountain West in 2026. UTEP is coached by Scotty Walden, in his first season in South Texas. Walden was previously the coach at Austin Peay, where he led the Governors to a 9-3 season last year. That included a very hard-fought 30-13 loss in Neyland Stadium last September. Walden brought quarterback Skyler Locklear with him from Clarksville to El Paso.

Are they any good?: No, UTEP is not a good football team. The Miners are 2-8 on the season, and 2-5 in Conference USA play. They need to win one of their last two games to equal last season’s 3-9 record. Not sure much else needs to be said. UTEP is not a good football team.

What will this tell us about Tennessee?: This game will tell you about the mood in the Tennessee locker room. It is Senior Day. A number of highly impactful veterans will play their final game inside Neyland Stadium. It may not feel as meaningful as the Vols’ past few games, so it is worth watching how much of an edge Tennessee plays with early on. Players have to be disappointed with the second half in Athens last weekend. They have to be disappointed to see themselves barely left out of the College Football Playoffs at this point as well. There is still football to play though. Both Las Vegas and the fancy ESPN metrics like Tennessee’s chances to reach the playoffs with a 10-2 finish. The Vols have to get there first though. Saturday’s game should not be close going into halftime if this locker room is focused on the task at hand.

What does Vegas say?: The consensus line for this game appears to be Vols -41.5, The game total is between 52.5 and 53.5. Tennessee is now 5-5 on the year ATS. However, the Vols have only covered once since Oklahoma. The Miners are 4-6 ATS this season. They are 1-2 ATS when that number is more than 19 points.

Matchup to watch on Defense: Bring the pressure. While the final score in Athens may not have been shocking, Tennessee’s lack of any pass rush whatsoever really was. The Vols did not record a single sack against Carson Beck and were barely able to affect the quarterback. There is no excuse for that lack of production this weekend. UTEP quarterback Skyler Locklear has shown some mobility this season but is not a dual-threat weapon. The Miners are allowing 2.30 sacks per game this season. They also allow a Conference USA-worst 7.0 tackles for loss per game. It is an offense that struggles to stay on the field at times, converting less than 32% of their third downs. Tennessee’s defense remains 3rd nationally in terms of opponents’ third-down conversions. The Vols allow just a 27.5% conversion rate on opponents’ third downs. That success rate starts with putting the Miners in third and long situations. While Tennessee’s defensive front has routinely gotten after the quarterback this season, the Vols are not sending as much pressure from the second and third level. Of the Vols’ 22 sacks on the season, only three of them come from linebackers or defensive backs. Look for more pressure from those second and third-level players on Saturday. After laying an egg in Athens, Tim Banks’ defense has to be anxious to get after the quarterback on Saturday.

More from RTI: Former Tennessee Punter Turned Painter Selling Vol Themed Art

Matchup to watch on Offense: Dylan Sampson’s pursuit of history. Unlike Tennessee’s pass rush, Dylan Sampson was not disappointing in Athens. Tennessee’s bell-cow rushed for 5.3 yards per carry against a very stout Bulldog defense. It kept his team in the game and kept Sampson in the hunt for Tennessee’s single-season rushing record. Sampson now sits 234 yards shy of Travis Stephens’ record of 1,464 yards set in 2001. In a perfect world, Sampson plays very sparingly on Saturday. I am sure this coaching staff does not want to have him carry the ball 20+ times against UTEP. I am also sure Sampson wants that record. UTEP is giving up 171 yards per game on the season but has tightened their run defense up in recent weeks. It would be nice to see Sampson break a long run early, and let some of his teammates lighten the load in the second half. With 133 yards, Sampson would move into the Top 10 at Tennessee in terms of career rushing yards. He would certainly have the chance to move further up that list with one, or more, postseason games. While those individual accolades are nice, Tennessee’s top priority should be a healthy Dylan Sampson going into Nashville next weekend.

Fun Fact: Like many old state schools, UTEP’s official name has gone through several iterations over the last 100+ years. Prior to its current name, the school was officially Texas Western College of the University of Texas. They were simply known as Texas Western up until 1966. If that name sounds familiar it is because Texas Western helped rewrite the history of college basketball in 1966. Led by Don Haskins, a brash Texas native in his mid-30s, the 1965-1966 Miner basketball team was the first D1 college basketball team to field an all-black starting lineup. Haskins’ team made national headlines as they stormed into the 1966 NCAA basketball tournament at 23-1. They eventually collided with an all-white Kentucky team in the national championship, coached by the legendary Adolph Rupp. The Miners defeated the Wildcats 72-65, in a game that most historians credit with effectively ending segregation in college basketball. Haskins never left El Paso, coaching at the school from 1961 to 1999. Disney made a movie about his championship team, Glory Road starring Josh Lucas as Haskins. Interestingly enough, Don Haskins did not start the practice of having African American players at Texas Western. He inherited three black players when taking over the program in 1961. One of those was a young El Paso native named Nolan Richardson. Richardson would make a name for himself as a hot-shot young Texas coach in the 1970’s. He would eventually find his way to Fayetteville, where he won the 1994 National Championship with the Razorbacks.

So what happens?: We have not seen Tennessee really throttle an opponent since September. The Vols have had a few chances, but have really been hampered by self-inflicted wounds on offense. It is fair to question how motivated the Tennessee locker room will be on a chilly Saturday afternoon. It may feel a long way from ABC primetime in Athens. The Vols overlooked Scotty Walden’s Austin Peay team last season. They only won by 17 against an FCS opponent. Walden’s defense attacked Josh Heupel’s offense mostly with three defensive linemen, and what appeared to be a light box. Their downfield coverage did a good job of taking away Tennessee’s vertical passing game. It is a defensive blueprint that a lot of teams have used against Tennessee over the last 20 games. The offensive adjustments Josh Heupel’s staff make will have ramifications far beyond the game this weekend. In reality, Saturday’s game should be a showcase of talent disparity. Expect Tennessee to try to get Dylan Sampson his yardage early. I would also expect to see Tennessee operating with as much tempo as we have seen this season. While the stats are not always bearing it out, Nico Iamaleava is clearly getting more comfortable in this offense. Tennessee will use Saturday as an opportunity to challenge him more in a number of aspects. I expect that to include tempo. Look for that to open up the downfield passing game more, and Nico to connect on two 30+ yard passes in the first half on Saturday.

Defensively, Tennessee should expect the kitchen sink from an underdog Miners squad. UTEP has two quality receivers in Trey Goodman and Kenny Odom. Odom is averaging nearly 18 yards per catch on the year and has seven touchdowns. Expect #6 to receive double-digit targets on Saturday. Tennessee should be especially mindful of the middle third of the field, a place where Georgia’s offense ate them alive last Saturday. UTEP tries to stay balanced on offense, but this is not a great running team. Their season average is 3.37 yards per carry. Tennessee is in a good position to make this a one-dimensional offense on Saturday, which will put a lot of pressure on QB Skyler Locklear. That pressure will turn into multiple turnovers, giving the Miners little chance to keep this game close. It is too late in the season for style points, especially given the opponent, but I expect to see Tennessee’s most dominant performance since September on Saturday. The fast-moving offense will help the Vols rush out ahead in this one. A few forced turnovers will put this game out of reach by early in the second half. Tennessee will do its part, then the Vols just have to hope for upsets elsewhere. Vols 48, Miners 13