The Vols are looking to pick up their seventh win in a row and move to 2-0 on Saturday after a hard-fought – but ultimately very fulfilling – 31-27 win over South Carolina last weekend.
By Steve Wright
Here are the three keys
Stay at home defensively
Mizzou lost 38-19 to Alabama in the first game of the Eliah Drinkwitz era on Saturday. The former Appalachian State head coach saw his team put in a credible performance given the gulf in class between the two rosters and his offensive strategy is one that the Vols defenders need to have taken note of.
Drinkwitz is a coach who loves to use tricks within his scheme to find space for his offensive players to exploit. There will be plenty of misdirection and option plays on Saturday for the defense to read, along with pre-snap motion on virtually every play. Staying home and playing the right assignments on defense will be huge.
Stop the run
The Mizzou passing game showed flashes of talent against Alabama but it was noticeable in the post-game presser that Drinkwitz was frustrated he went away from the ground game. Larry Rountree III – maybe the team’s best offensive player – went for 67 yards on 14 carries into the teeth of a very good defense. Both he and understudy Tyler Badie will likely see much more action on Saturday against the Vols.
Better play from Guarantano
We got to see both the good and the bad from Jarrett Guarantano against the Gamecocks and by this point that is to be expected every game. The Vols signal caller passed for 259 yards on 19-of-31 through the air, but he was maddeningly bad on third down where the team converted just one of 12 attempts. Guarantano missed open receivers with overthrows way too often, but perhaps playing against a Mizzou defense that he went for 415 yards against last year will prove a tonic to his inaccurate ways.
Saturday‘s game kicks off at 11:00 AM CT (12:00 PM ET). Watch on the SEC Network.
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