Tennessee Three Keys: Alabama

Three-keys-Tennessee

The Tennessee Volunteers faced a cratering, collapsing Auburn team… but they still had to finish the task of beating the Tigers on the road, and they did. Moreover, they did so in an authoritative fashion. For the first time all season, hope breathes – loudly – in Knoxville.

By Matt Zemek

A week of rest did wonders for the retooling of this team. The fact that an extra week of preparation brought forth such an excellent performance from the coaching staff augurs well for Jeremy Pruitt in 2019. Life just became immeasurably better for the Big Orange.

Now comes a game which – if won – will create the biggest orange-splashed outpouring of football-related ecstasy in Knoxville since Peyton Manning’s Denver Broncos won Super Bowl 50. If this next game goes into the win column for the Vols, the culture of this program and the electricity surrounding it will be transformed by several orders of magnitude.

The opponent could be only one: Alabama. Nick Saban. The Death Star. The shutdown monster rampaging its way toward another playoff berth and national title. Can Tennessee possibly throw this colossus for a colossal loss? The Vols are playing with house money. They have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Therefore…

1 – THROW THE KITCHEN SINK

There are few better times for a coaching staff to have fun – and not get too stressed in preparation for a game – than in Year 1 against a massive favorite. This is exactly the kind of game in which every gadget or gimmick or exotic or wrinkle can be taken off the shelf, dusted, and set into motion against a defense which has not always been focused this season. Alabama allowed over 30 points to Arkansas. It conceded some big plays to Texas A&M. It is not as good as other recent Alabama defenses.

There are games in a season when you – as a coach – hope your basic stuff and your standard package of plays can win straight up against a good opponent. This is not one of those games. This is a time for Tennessee – not too far removed from the idle week (in which I’m sure some plays were practiced with an eye on Alabama) – to show Saban a bunch of looks and alignments he hasn’t seen before.

Give it a whirl. Go out for a spin. See if this tricked-up race car can run circles around a befuddled Bama bunch.

2 – STIDHAM TO HURTS

The Tennessee defense took advantage of a struggling Jarrett Stidham in Week 7. If indeed Jalen Hurts replaces Tua Tagovailoa at quarterback for Alabama this week, Tennessee has a much better chance of winning. However, unlike Stidham, Hurts prefers to run if he can. Stidham is capable of running; Hurts would like to run if at all possible. The Vols need to be ready to keep Hurts in the pocket and beat them as a passer. Tua is the opposite of Hurts – he is a quarterback defenses WANT to run. They don’t want him to throw.

3 – GUARANTANO’S GROWTH

Jarrett Guarantano had his best game as a Vol against Auburn. Now he faces Alabama. It would be wonderful to see him soar against the Tide, but the main thing is for Guarantano to learn for the future. Learn from this experience.

 

 

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