Tennessee Football Preview: Vols Host UTSA in Bounce Back Opportunity

The Opponent: The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) is relatively young as colleges go. The school was formally signed into existence in front of the Alamo in 1969. It has grown to one of the larger schools in Texas, with almost 35,000 total students. As a football school, UTSA is incredibly young. The Roadrunners did not play their first season of college football until 2011, originally guided by former Miami head coach Larry Coker. UTSA is now coached by Jeff Traylor, a veteran of Texas high school football. This is the Roadrunners’ first season competing in the American Athletic Conference (AAC) after years in Conference USA.

Are they any good?: UTSA was somewhat of a preseason darling mostly due to the fact they return so many starters from an 11-3 team. The Roadrunners have won 23 games in the past two seasons, so are certainly disappointed to be starting 1-2. Their offense was incredibly ineffective in the opener against Houston. Last week UTSA could not stop the Army ground game, losing as a favorite at home. Army ran the ball 63 times for 254 yards last week, dominating time of possession with nearly 45 minutes. All that to say, this is a veteran team that has won a lot of football games. They have played on the road against Power 5 opponents before, so should not be intimidated by the stage. There is a reason Tennessee is such a heavy favorite, but if the Vols don’t show up ready to play then UTSA can absolutely win this game.

What does Vegas Say?: Tennessee opened -19.5, and is now either -20.5 or -21. The Over/Under is now at 58.5. It would be curious to know what this line could have been if UTSA had the 3-0 start that many projected.

What will this game tell us about Tennessee?: I think this will tell us a fair amount about the Vols, specifically about the attitude within the locker room. Tennessee was thoroughly humbled in Gainesville. The Vols played with poor execution and very little discipline. Do we start to see those things cleaned up this weekend? If not, this will be a very close game. All of this team’s goals are still obtainable, but there is not a great vibe around this group at the moment. Saturday can change that before a crucial matchup with South Carolina. Saturday afternoon will tell us about the leadership and discipline of this Tennessee team heading into SEC play.

More from RTI: Starting Tennessee Cornerback ‘Should Be Available’ Against UTSA

Matchup to watch on Defense: Where are the playmakers? Tennessee’s defense is going to give up yards. They are going to give up points at times. They have to be more disruptive though. At its best, this defense has always been punctuated by big plays. Think of Aaron Beasley in the Orange Bowl, or Doneiko Slaughter against Kentucky. Tennessee needs to find more playmakers on defense. Last season, the Vols’ defense led the SEC with 22 total takeaways. Through three games this season they only have one. That was a fourth-quarter interception against Austin Peay. Sitting back and playing a passive zone against Graham Mertz did not work in the first half against Florida. The Vols need to blitz to get consistent pressure on the opposing quarterback. I don’t expect Tennessee to have success only rushing four against SEC lines. That is the reality right now. Bringing that extra man puts more pressure on your secondary to cover man-to-man. Maybe a little pressure is a good thing for this secondary. It is a veteran group that just seems too comfortable letting the other team pitch and catch their way down the field at times. Will we see the snap count divided up differently in the secondary this weekend? Getting Slaughter back would help tremendously. What is Kamal Hadden’s role moving forward? Do we start seeing some young players like Ricky Gibson on the field more? Tennessee needs to really be intentional about finding playmakers on defense. This group found ways to create turnovers last season, but we are not seeing that so far this year. Tomorrow could be a big opportunity, especially if UTSA goes with Eddie Lee Marburger making his first start on the road at quarterback.

Matchup to watch on Offense: Speed it up. First of all, you expect cleaner overall execution at home. In what is becoming a trend worth monitoring, Tennessee looked totally out of sorts on the road last weekend. You expect a cleaner game at home this week, and I think you will see it for the most part. We need to see this offense go faster though. Tennessee ran 85 total plays against Virginia, on par with last season. That number was just 65 against Austin Peay and 64 against Florida. Part of that reason is Tennessee is still underperforming on third down, especially in its first two games. The bigger part though is this offense is simply not moving as fast. How much will the return of Cooper Mays help that pace? His absence in the past has made a noticeable difference. Army was able to wear this defense down with the run last week. I expect Tennessee to try the same thing, but with a lot more pace mixed in. The Vols have three very capable running backs, so don’t need to worry about a back tiring out. I expect to see that running game drive the pace on Saturday. Whether it is driven by the run or pass, this offense has to start moving faster though. That concept is at the core of Tennessee’s identity under Josh Heupel. The Vols have to get back to what has made them so successful in the past.

Fun Fact: This opponent creates an obvious opportunity to talk about the Alamo and its place in American history. The Battle of the Alamo itself was part of what history has called the Texas Revolution, taking place between 1835 – 1836. This series of battles was between the Mexican government and breakaway Texas militias, the United States government had no official involvement. At that time, Texas was part of Mexico. The seeds of Revolution are rich with irony though. By 1835 the Mexican government had become fed up with illegal immigrants from the United States overrunning Texas. Specifically, those illegal immigrants who practiced slavery, as slavery was already abolished within Mexico. However eventually these illegal immigrants, or Anglo Texans, vastly outnumbered the native Mexicans in Texas. At that point, revolution was almost inevitable. The Texas Revolution would lead to the founding of the Republic of Texas in 1836, which survived as an independent nation for nearly a decade before being admitted as the 28th state of the Union in 1946. The Alamo was the final resting place of East Tennessee hero Davy Crockett. History still debates exactly how Crockett died, however the former Tennessee Congressman, and folklore legend, never returned from San Antonio after bravely volunteering to fight for the independence of Texas.

So what Happens?: That is a great question, and one I struggle to answer with much confidence. UTSA is a solid, veteran team. Tennessee probably won’t know which QB it is facing until game time. Last week snapped Frank Harris’ streak of starting 36 consecutive games for the Roadrunners at quarterback. Harris is battling through a toe injury, a pesky ailment for a mobile QB. Don’t discount even a banged-up Frank Harris though. The super senior has accounted for over 100 total touchdowns in his career. In his absence, Tennessee would see Eddie Lee Marburger. The sophomore looked solid throwing the ball against Army, but does not have Harris’ mobility outside the pocket. Under either scenario, Tennessee has to put pressure on the Roadrunners. As highlighted earlier, the Vols are not forcing turnovers like they were last season. On offense, the lack of pace so far this season was also highlighted. I expect Tennessee to try to speed things up significantly tomorrow. This coaching staff shows no signs of wavering in belief of Joe Milton. Outside of one horrific interception, Milton wasn’t bad against Florida. However, there is no denying this offense just has not run as smoothly under #7. Tennessee was never able to get in rhythm after its first drive last week. A big part of that was the Vols were never able to establish their run game in the Swamp. I expect that to change tomorrow against a Roadrunner defense that was run over by Army last week. That run game will set the pace for an improved Tennessee offense on Saturday, and open up a few big plays downfield. I don’t expect Tennessee to answer all of its questions on Saturday, but I think the Vols play a much cleaner game of football against UTSA. At some point, Tennessee will pull away from the Roadrunners, as pace of play and talent eventually wear UTSA down. The Vols win the turnover battle, and carry a little momentum into a big game against South Carolina after an eventual score of Vols 38, Roadrunners 17