nicksjuzunk
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Tennessee returns from Pittsburgh having earned a well deserved victory. It was far from perfect, but it was a feisty Pitt team who was out of conference, higher ranked, and at home. Good victory, but a lot of weak spots need to be addressed. Better to do that on the back of a victory than on the heels of a defeat, so let's look at how the Vols can take steps forward against Akron before beginning the SEC schedule. There won't be a lot of room from error after this weekend.
Keys to Victory:
1. Take Nothing for Granted: Easy win, right? Ask Texas A&M, Nebraska, and Notre Dame about those easy wins. With the increasing development of high school football players and the transfer portal funneling decent players into MAC & Sunbelt Conferences, some of these games aren't the rollovers they used to be. Fortunately, we've just seen this team play a similarly (to Tennessee) ranked Michigan State team, and it didn't go well for the Akron Zips. In fact, it was 52-Zip. The Michigan State defense is stronger than the Vols, but I would say their offense is not close to what we are capable of. Regardless, this should not be a game if Tennessee treats it as such.
2. Defensive Progression: After knocking out Kedon Slovis last week, the Vols had to deal with the back-up Patti, who almost did enough to win. This week, Akron will be without their starting QB DJ Irons who was having a decent year. Jeff Undercuffler Jr., former QB from Albany has been around college football for awhile but hasn't been very accurate. His best year was 2019 with Albany and this is his first year at Akron... in which he did not win the job as a transfer. He only managed 3.6 yards per pass against Michigan State. Look for Tennessee to be aggressive an opportunistic in the secondary.
In a bizarre twist, former Vol commitment Shocky Jacques-Louis will face the Vols in back to back years, last year with Pitt and this year with Akron. It's been a good move for him. He totaled 259 yards last year with Pitt and in two games with Akron is their leading receiver with 153 yards. Good for him. He's their top receiver and the Vols will need to keep him in check.
Akron produces next to nothing on the ground. Their leading rusher Cam Wiley has 114 yards for a tame 3.7 YPC. QB Irons is out so their next two leading rushers have 5 and 2 yards. Tennessee got torched on some gaping holes against Pitt, but they should easily be able to force an absolute ton of TFL's this week.
3. Tighten Up: Coach Heupel will surely be looking to tighten up some areas of weakness from this past weekend:
a. Hooker's Play: It's not been necessarily bad, but it's been a step backwards from last year. The long ball has been a bit hit or miss and his presence in the pocket hasn't been top notch. Hooker is still building chemistry with Bru and Jalin and they need to keep moving forward. Jalin's use as essentially an extension of the running game has been great, but look for opponents to sit on those screens and take that away pretty quick from here on out. Great exploitation against Pitt though. Should be good for a hitch and go in the future.
b. Special Teams: Chase McGrath had an absolute bomb of a field goal, but the punt return game has been a liability and turnovers in special teams is almost always a sure fire loss. Tennessee was very fortunate that Pitt was as bad on special teams, missing two field goals. They can't continue to count on the mistakes of others.
c. OL: The OL was pitiful against Pitt. Hooker was running for his life and the running game struggled to get going, scraping together 91 yards at a 2.6 YPC clip. Not optimal. And that's after WV put 190 rushing on Pitt, then turned around and only rushed for 3.8 YPC against Kansas in a loss. Big picture... this is a HUGE concern.
d. Empty the Bench: There is a balance between giving enough time for your key contributors to build chemistry and letting the unknown players get their shots. Generally speaking, the sweet spot is to have your starters take one series in the 3rd quarter and then turn it over to the back-ups. Tennessee may not have the luxury to do that. It really depends on how sharp the execution looks, but they would do well to give plenty of chances to the upperclassmen who still haven't contributed much on offense, like Holliday and Calloway while letting the freshmen running backs and WR's also see what they have on Saturdays. You'd love to see plenty of youth get playing time as well, if for no other reason than to keep the snap count low for the starters. There is a lot of talent on that side of the ball, but they are unproven. This would be a good chance to see who can play. The game should go well enough for Tayven Jackson to get a bit of burn too.
Prediction: It's not going to be a great week to be an Akron fan. Jeff Undercuffler Jr. is going to be WAY out of his depth and the OC will have the unenviable task of keeping the passing game short and safe or trying to open it up and risk longer shots down the field. Neither is going to go well. The defense will get pressure, Undercuffler will try to make things happen and he doesn't have the talent to do it. Whether the Vols are sitting on the short routes or the FS is sitting back and catching balls down the field, it's going to be a 3 INT game. The Vols offense will not show much, and that is fine. They have the talent to win easily if they execute. Just do the simple things with excellence and that will be enough. When was the last time Tennessee got a shut out? 6 days from now. Don't look past this one, but Florida is coming to Neyland next week, and the Vols are undefeated...
TN 45
Akron 0
