nicksjuzunk
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Date: Saturday, December 19th
Game Time: 12:00 pm ET
Venue: Neyland Stadium, Knoxville TN
Network: ESPN
Tennessee played a Junior Varsity team last Saturday in Nashville and aside from some early defensive struggles, looked like they should have looked against such an opponent. This week will be no such "gimme" game as Texas A&M rolls into town with aspirations of making the CFB Playoffs and finally etching a date into Jimbo Fisher's NC Trophy which has been collecting dust. Does Tennessee have what it takes to dash their hopes? Let's see.
Keys to Victory:
1. Slow their Roll: Texas A&M has a balanced, high powered offense which has been having it's way with opponents all year long. Tennessee has really struggled on defense and this is not a good match-up at all. The Vols need to be able to shut down the A&M running game, which they may be able to slow down to a degree, and put the game on QB Kellen Mond's shoulders. Mond has been playing good football this year. He has not thrown an INT in the past 4 games and has only taken 4 sacks on the season. He's mobile and can easily escape a collapsing pocket. This does not bode well for the Vols. Mond will need to turn the ball over and Pruitt will need to dial up some unique blitz packages to try to get him down in the backfield while not exploiting the opportunity to get free for scrambling yards.
2. Open Up: Vol fans finally have their wish with Bailey and Shrout sharing the QB reps and JG being a good teammate from the sideline. Last week, Chaney began to get more creative with the play calling and added in a little spice. This is the last chance to "make a statement" and with a loss assumed already by nearly everyone, it's a great time to mix it up and try some new things. Look for Tennessee to utilize the short passing game to Bailey's strength and to also get the ball out of his hands quicker. Shrout should provide a better deep ball option but you can't just bring him in every time you want to throw for over 20 yards either. Managing the reps will be interesting, and possibly random, based on what we have seen.
3. Serve Youth: While this will be Senior Day for the Vols, youth need to be served. Several young Vols got their opportunity to flash last week and we need to see more. If Pruitt wants to keep his job, he needs to sell "hope for the future" and that involves getting the promising freshmen a lot of touches.
Prediction:
In spite of all of this, things go about the way you would expect them to go. Decent play from the Vols, not enough to beat A&M.
TN 17
A&M 31
Game Time: 12:00 pm ET
Venue: Neyland Stadium, Knoxville TN
Network: ESPN
Tennessee played a Junior Varsity team last Saturday in Nashville and aside from some early defensive struggles, looked like they should have looked against such an opponent. This week will be no such "gimme" game as Texas A&M rolls into town with aspirations of making the CFB Playoffs and finally etching a date into Jimbo Fisher's NC Trophy which has been collecting dust. Does Tennessee have what it takes to dash their hopes? Let's see.
Keys to Victory:
1. Slow their Roll: Texas A&M has a balanced, high powered offense which has been having it's way with opponents all year long. Tennessee has really struggled on defense and this is not a good match-up at all. The Vols need to be able to shut down the A&M running game, which they may be able to slow down to a degree, and put the game on QB Kellen Mond's shoulders. Mond has been playing good football this year. He has not thrown an INT in the past 4 games and has only taken 4 sacks on the season. He's mobile and can easily escape a collapsing pocket. This does not bode well for the Vols. Mond will need to turn the ball over and Pruitt will need to dial up some unique blitz packages to try to get him down in the backfield while not exploiting the opportunity to get free for scrambling yards.
2. Open Up: Vol fans finally have their wish with Bailey and Shrout sharing the QB reps and JG being a good teammate from the sideline. Last week, Chaney began to get more creative with the play calling and added in a little spice. This is the last chance to "make a statement" and with a loss assumed already by nearly everyone, it's a great time to mix it up and try some new things. Look for Tennessee to utilize the short passing game to Bailey's strength and to also get the ball out of his hands quicker. Shrout should provide a better deep ball option but you can't just bring him in every time you want to throw for over 20 yards either. Managing the reps will be interesting, and possibly random, based on what we have seen.
3. Serve Youth: While this will be Senior Day for the Vols, youth need to be served. Several young Vols got their opportunity to flash last week and we need to see more. If Pruitt wants to keep his job, he needs to sell "hope for the future" and that involves getting the promising freshmen a lot of touches.
Prediction:
In spite of all of this, things go about the way you would expect them to go. Decent play from the Vols, not enough to beat A&M.
TN 17
A&M 31
