Time for takeoff Vols look for more offensive production vs. Hokies
Associated Press
Tennessee believes it isn’t far from correcting the problems that stifled its offense in a seasonopening overtime victory.
The Volunteers were kept out of the end zone for the first 49½ minutes of that 20-13 triumph over Appalachian State last Thursday and had just one touchdown in regulation. Tennessee struggled despite returning the nucleus of an offense that averaged 35.2 points per game last year to rank third in the Southeastern Conference.
“We just were one guy away,” offensive coordinator Mike DeBord said. “It wasn’t the same guy all the time or whatever. On offense, when you execute, you have to be 11 for 11. We just had one guy that didn’t get his technique down, and that’s what slowed us up in execution.”
Tennessee (1-0; No. 14 USA TODAY, No. 17 AP) faces potentially a tougher challenge Saturday when it heads to Bristol Motor Speedway to face Virginia Tech (1-0). Since Bud Foster took over as Virginia Tech’s defensive coordinator in 1996, the Hokies have the most sacks and interceptions of any Football Bowl Subdivision program. When, where: TV, radio:
Tennessee can’t repeat last week’s mistakes, particularly on first down.
Vols coach Butch Jones said an effective offense should pick up at least 4 yards on first down 65-75 percent of the time. Tennessee gained that much on less than one-third of its first-down plays against Appalachian State.
“We had way too many negativeyardage football plays,” Jones said. “You can’t recover having secondand-12, second-and-19. Those were self-inflicted wounds.”
And they were committed by an experienced group.
Offensive tackle Kyler Kerbyson and wide receiver Von Pearson are the only offensive starters missing from last season’s Outback Bowl victory over Northwestern, though tackle Chance Hall is currently sidelined after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery last month.