nicksjuzunk
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Tennessee returns to the gridiron after a well timed by-week. The last time Tennessee played A&M, The Jeremy Pruitt era was limping to an end and the Aggies had their best season in a year that didn't really matter. As it is now, Jimbo Fisher is still looking to put his first stamp on the famous TBD championship trophy he received when he signed on with A&M and Tennessee couldn't be happier with Josh Heupel. Well, well, well... how the turntables. Ultimately, this is a really intriguing game. A&M will be the best team the Vols have played to date and Tennessee has already lost to a lesser Florida team, so it's going to be interesting to see how this shakes out.
Keys to Victory:
1. Win the line of scrimmage: Texas A&M has the best rushing defense in the SEC and the Vols have the best rushing offense. Obviously, one of those has to give this weekend. Getting Cooper an extra week of rest after knocking off a bit of rust against South Carolina is huge, and the entire Vol offensive line should be fresh and ready to compete against a stout A&M defensive line which features former #1 instate recruit and Powell Panther, Walter Nolen. If Tennessee can not establish the run game, they will be forced to put more on Joe Milton, which is not the preferable outcome. They would much rather take what they want on the ground and open up the passing game without the need to make their living there.
2. Replacing Bru: Tennessee is going to miss Bru McCoy. Although his key catches have been big, I feel the bigger loss is his blocking on the perimeter which opens up no less than 6 screens per game, mostly to Squirrel. Not only will we miss out on the yards that open up there, we miss out on an easy way to get Joe some easy passes and ultimately there is a higher probability of someone missing a block, having the route jumped and taking it the other way for a Pick 6. It will be interesting to see if this is something the coaches feel comfortable with continuing to exploit of if they lack the comfort level and decide to go away from the screens until they have a mauler on the edge to hold blocks.
3. Sub-Max Johnson: Max Johnson is a very ok QB. It's less about Max Johnson and more about what OC Bobby Petrino can do with an offense that concerns me. Johnson has not handled pressure this year and the Vol DL will need to dial up the Spencer Rattler gameplan to keep pressure in his face.
Prediction: Tennessee has won 12 in a row at home and A&M has lost 7 in a row on the road. Every streak comes to an end, but these don't come to an end this week. Tennessee rides a balanced offense all afternoon long and is able to put together a couple of more drives than A&M to get the win.
TN 34
A&M 28
