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Tennessee hopes to improve to 2-0 this Saturday, but to do so it must first defeat a worthy mid-major opponent in the Arkansas State Red Wolves out of the Sun Belt Conference.
Nick Carner and I put together a few questions about the upcoming game and Jeff Reed from the Scout.com network was kind enough to take the time to answer them. Jeff is the editor of AStateNation. He’s an Arkansas State graduate and has been following the program since 1974. You can find him on twitter @ASUJeffReed. If you enjoy this article, please reach out to Jeff and thank him for his time.
Let’s get to it.
1.) Nick: Alright, before we get started, congrats on 1-0! It always feels nice to be undefeated, eh? Moving on. . . Y’all put up the better part of 600 yards of total offense last week on the way to a victory against FCS opponent Montana State. What can Vol fans expect to see from stAte offensively come noon (11 central) Saturday? Who are the players to watch?
You can certainly expect a team that wants to play as fast as possible. As soon as the ball is set the coaches expect everyone to be at the line of scrimmage ready to go. One thing A-State does not do is sub a lot. That slows the play fast process down.
For the past few years we have been pretty good on offense, even going back to the season when Hugh Freeze was OC and we finished 4-8. (The next season he was named head coach and we go 10-3 and start our turnaround.) It is a diversified offense that will most likely start by trying to run the ball. Passes can be downfield, screens. A lot of variety.
Players to watch … RB Michael Gordon just might be the best in the Sun Belt. He did not get his first start until ULM last year (David Oku was suspended for fighting a teammate and as a result became A-State’s Wally Pip) and has not stopped running since. He is explosive but not an every down back. Was banged up a little against Montana State and coaches said could have played the second half but didn’t. I know you guys have heard a lot about QB Fredi Knighten. Fredi can do spectacular things but the book is really short on him. He played major role in comeback at W Ky last year, a game we lost but the final minute there is a book to be written, and was the MVP in the GoDaddy Bowl. He can run and he throws better than advertised. WR JD McKissic is the best all-around player in the league. Last year he made All-Sun Belt at three different spots. He will be a big part of the offense. He was banged up a little vs. M-State and did not play much in the second half. TE Darion Griswold is a player I am very high on. Big rangy, athletic tight end who lettered for the A-State basketball team as a freshman. But 6-5 post players have a tough time in college hoops.
2.) Nick: Okay, so If you were Tennessee, and you had to stop stAte QB Fredi Knighten, how would you do it?
You really expect me to give you guys ideas? Just kidding. You have to contain him. Keep him in the pocket. Outside the pocket he is a dangerous dude.
3.) Nick: Arkansas State is the three-time defending Sunbelt Champions despite seeing four coaches in four years. The latter part — the sort of coaching musical chairs — is something we’re familiar with here at Tennessee. But what’s been the key to the Red Wolves’ sustained success in the face of such consistent transition?
First off, Blake Anderson is the fifth coach in five years. Steve Roberts was the coach who built the foundation but could do no better than 6-6. Things went bad and he was 4-8 in his last two seasons and opened the door for Hugh Freeze. IMO Roberts was also snakebit and had a lot of zany things go against him. He just could not get the Red Wolves to break on through to the other side (yes I like the Doors!). Freeze did that and he did it with Roberts’ players. Next was Gus Malzahn, who is football 24/7 365. There is nothing else. Gus carried on and we got another conference title. Bryan Harsin came in we struggled some early, in part because he tried to change the team to a power one and it was not built for that. He lost a lot of support when we got hammered at Memphis by a bas Tiger team we had drilled for 2 straight seasons. When he gave up the play calling and we went back to a faster pace spread style we got a lot better. And we were able to win our third straight title, thanks to South Alabama’s defeating UL-Lafayette in the season finale.
So how has it been done? It has been a group effort. First there are the players. Secondly, there have been some really good hires and support from the administration.
4.) Freak: I’m curious what you thought about new head coach Blake Anderson after his first game and if you think we can expect to see that same (seemingly) balanced attack that Arkansas State showed last week.
I think Blake Anderson got what he wanted for the most part from the first game and that was a team that hustled and played hard. A-State will try to wear you down and beat you in the fourth quarter. Can that be done vs. Tennessee, which has more players than Montana State, we will see. Walt Bell, who played at Middle, calls the plays and he and Anderson are in sync on the offense. Play fast, play smart.
5.) Freak: Tennessee wins if …? Arkansas State wins if … ?
I think the Vols win if they don’t make mistakes and turn in the same effort they had vs. Utah State and control the line of scrimmage. Arkansas State wins if it gets some breaks, some big plays and does not wear down defensively.
6.)Freak: Anderson said in his press conference that he doesn’t expect the crowd in Neyland Stadium to be a factor. Do you agree?
Well our guys have played a lot of big places over the years. It is not the first big ball yard we have been in. I think that is what he was probably saying. Last year we were at Auburn and Missouri. Two years ago we were at Nebraska and Oregon, which is not as big, but from what I was told is one of the loudest places in college football. I don’t believe this team will be in awe of the surroundings. But I do image 102,000-plus can make a lot of noise.
7.) Freak: Lastly, what do Arkansas State fans think of Tennessee?
I think there is a lot of respect. To the true diehard loyalists there is only one SEC school that is not liked. We haven’t played enough to develop a dislike of the Vols and even if we had there would still be (and always will be) one Tennessee team ahead of you. But I think there is respect. We know this is an uphill battle but one we could win if things go right. One thing about it, the SEC teams we schedule usually have big years. An example, before the season last year we had Auburn and Mizzou on the sked and we are thinking we might get one of those …. and look where they ended up.[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]