The Alabama Crimson Tide roll into Knoxville Saturday for the 107th rendition in the Third Saturday in October rivalry.
Both teams struggled the last two weeks and are looking to get their seasons straightened up and keep their College Football Playoff hopes in a solid spot.
Taking a look at three keys for Tennessee to earn the rivalry victory over the Crimson Tide on Saturday afternoon.
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Make Jalen Milroe Uncomfortable
Jalen Milroe has improved greatly sense the last time Tennessee face him on the field. But last week, we saw South Carolina make him look more like his former self. The Gamecocks daunted pass rush got Milroe on the ground early and the star quarterback started dropping his eyes and worrying more about escaping the rush the rest of the game.
That’s the recipe for Tennessee in this one. The Vols have a daunted defensive line and a secondary that’s played well but still hasn’t been tested a ton this season. Tennessee needs to make Milroe worry about the pass rush and keeping him from hitting chunk plays down the field.
That is, obviously, a lot easier said than done. Tennessee’s pass rush has been good but not unblockable when only bringing four. If the Vols blitz and Milroe escapes then that opens up the possibility of big plays too. Containing Milroe when plays break down is a major challenge. Tennessee has to win up front and make tackles when they get to the talented quarterback in the backfield.
Win The Big Play Battle
Alabama has struggled to sustain drives at points this season and have been a little bit big play dependent as an offense. Milroe has just two of his 12 touchdown passes this season from inside the 20-yard line. All while Tennessee’s red zone defense has been fantastic to date.
Tennessee’s offense has struggled period. But its offensive line issues have made it very difficult for them to sustain long drives to this point in the season.
All that to say, this feels like a game that will be decided by chunk plays. Sustaining long drives seems like it’ll be difficult for both offenses. Besides turnovers, big plays seems like the best way to score points in this game.
Alabama has been a whole lot better at creating big plays this season compared to Tennessee so that feels like an advantage for them. However, the Crimson Tide’s defense has given up more big plays than Tennessee’s defense. The Vols were close to hitting a handful of big plays last week against Florida. They need to him them in this game.
Avoid Back Breaking Penalties
For Tennessee to score 30-plus points in this game than they’re going to have to sustain and score on at least a couple drives. There’s a lot of issues with the Vols’ offense at the moment but in recent weeks penalties from the offensive line have been back breaking.
Both in the first half against Arkansas and Florida, Tennessee had a strong drive get to the verge of scoring range and then go backwards due to bad offensive line play.
Nico Iamaleava has made a number of plays with his legs to move the sticks but holding penalties have called most back. Tennessee’s offense needs to avoid holding penalties in this game. Just feels like a must for them to sustain any offensive success.
