Saturday night inside Neyland Stadium, No. 15 Tennessee football will close out nonconference play against the Kennesaw State Owls. Game time is set for 7:45 p.m. EDT and will be televised on SEC Network with Dave Neal and Cole Cubelic on the call. Ashley Stroehlein will provide the sideline report.
The Vols are off to a 2-0 start, and while the competition hasn’t been the best, even though they faced an Atlantic Coast Conference opponent in Georgia Tech, the Jim Knowles defense has been disruptive at times. While week one against Furman surprised me with no forced turnovers, the defense still caused trouble. Then, against Georgia Tech, that changed with two interceptions off Alberto Mendoza, by Dejuan Lane (pick-6) and Jeremiah Telander.
Those interceptions were the product of film work and instincts as well. How much of that will we see this weekend? Additionally, how much more will we see after this week? On pass defense, Tennessee is one of eight Power Four teams that have not given up a 30-plus-yard pass play. Although cornerbacks coach Derek Jones feels his guys haven’t been tested enough yet, I believe he would like to see Kennesaw give his group some opportunities Saturday to make plays. Then they can get a better read on where they are in that aspect.
“We hadn’t been tested a lot on deep routes,” Jones said. “Those guys hadn’t had to cover a lot of takeoffs and come back and get in a good stance and do things. So you would like to see them get tested in a way where it’s not necessarily about the number of reps, but how do they play when they’re tired and how do they respond to explosive plays and some other things.”
Heading into Saturday’s game, the Vols have recorded 11 sacks. That number ties for second in the SEC and third in the FBS. They are one of five FBS teams with double-digit sacks, according to Tennessee football’s game notes. Not only have they gotten to the quarterback, but they have shut things down behind the line of scrimmage for 20 tackles.
Defensive lineman Xavier Gilliam leads the team with 5.5 tackles for loss and three sacks. Mariyon Dye has recorded three tackles for loss and three sacks as well. When asked in this week’s media availability how much of the defense we haven’t seen yet, Dye said there’s still a lot. One thing I’d like to see the defense do is force more three-and-outs. Or, at least shorten opposing drives.
Georgia Tech converted 54 percent of third downs last week and finished with an edge in time of possession, 31:12 to 28:48. Granted, that didn’t amount to anything bad for Tennessee in a 45-24 win. However, greater competition in the near future will take advantage of more opportunities.
Saturday night, I look for the Vols to show the product of who they want to be going forward into conference play. They know there’s more to prove.
“I feel like we’re never satisfied,” linebacker Amare Campbell said earlier this week. “We’re always trying to build a better product, build a better defense. There’s always room for improvement, so I wouldn’t say he’s [Knowles] satisfied.”
Campbell, who leads the Vols in tackles with 14, spoke heavily this week on cleaning up things. Look for a disciplined defense Saturday night, and pay attention to the details in how they go about their business. It is Kennesaw State, and even if the Vols win by 40, to me it’s the finer details in how that transpires. It’s not only the result.
