The Bowling Green game left a lot of people concerned and rightfully so. The Vols disappeared on both sides of the ball for the entire second quarter. Joe Milton started out on fire, completing a high percentage of his passes in the first quarter. In the second quarter, Pitt sustained two long drives and Tennessee went 3 and out and took a shot at the end zone just before halftime. The defense was giving up a lot of yards in the second quarter but managed to hold Bowling Green to a pair of field goals. The second quarter gave the traumatized Tennessee fan base flashbacks of Georgia State.
While the second quarter overshadowed the rest of the game, there are positives to be found. Josh Heupel's staff actually made adjustments at halftime. They decided to run the ball in the second half and the defense adjusted as well. Bowling Green couldn't stop Tennessee's run as they left them behind in the third quarter. The Vols still tried to work on the passing game with little success until Joe Milton connected with Cedric Tillman on a 40 yard shot to the end zone. Hendon Hooker came in for mop up duty and looked good until a fumble at the end killed any chance for another touchdown.
Joe Milton's mechanics were weird. I don't like just standing there in the pocket. He looked like he was too confident and trying to play backyard football. He cannot do that going forward. When Milton started to miss on his throws, he was putting way too much into them. Absolutely no touch on his passes. If he doesn't get that fixed, I think Heupel will move on. There were open receivers almost all game. And not all of the passing woes were on Milton. There were a few egregious drops too.
These things can be fixed, but as of today (Thursday), the Vols are going to be facing some other challenges. Tiyon Evans and Byron Young are both looking doubtful for the game. I will write this preview in the assumption that they will not be available. Both are huge losses and could have made big impacts on the game.
Pitt comes into Neyland Stadium for the first game of the Johnny Majors Classic. Majors rebuilt Pitt and led them to a national championship in 1976 and then immediately came home to Tennessee to rebuild the Vols in 1977. Pat Narduzzi is entering his 7th season at Pitt and has been a solid coach who is know for having tough defenses. His records, however, have been mediocre at best. They are a perennial five or six loss team. His defense lost five starters to the NFL draft from last years team, but his system has enough continuity to still be imposing. Offensively they return super senior Kenny Pickett, who many believe to be an NFL ready quarterback. His favorite target looks to be Florida transfer tight end Lucas Krull. I expect their pass game to be more of a threat than their running game.
With the loss of Tiyon Evans, Tennessee's success will boil down to quarterback play. If Milton can clean up his mistakes, Tennessee has the potential to run away with this game. If he struggles, Heupel needs to have the awareness to replace him before the game gets out of hand. I would expect Pitt to initially take away Tennessee's run and make Milton beat them with his arm. Unfortunately, I think we see the same struggles from Milton. I think in the first two possessions he continues to miss receivers and the run game gets shut down. I do think Heupel puts in Hendon Hooker in the third series and he begins to hit the open receivers and loosens up Pitt's defense. Then the running game will start to be there for Jabari Small and Hooker. I think we see a receiver emerge in this game. I'm not sure who it will be but I think it will happen as we begin to see Heupel's offense get revved up.
The defense will struggle early as Pitt jumps out to a quick lead. Without Byron Young to generate the pass rush, it will take the Vols a few series to get their bearings, and they won't be helped by the struggles of the offense. Once the offense starts clicking, the defense will feed off the momentum and start to hold Pickett in check. I think they get enough pass rush to force Pickett into a few turnovers.
The question with this game is how far does Tennessee have to come back from? I think Heupel makes the change early enough to spark the Vols and the crowd carries them the rest of the way home. The stadium may not be full, but I think the crowd will still be plenty loud, similar to BYU in 2019.
Tennessee(+3.5) 34
Pitt 31
In other games...
Ohio State 31
Oregon(+14.5) 24
Iowa State 33
Iowa(+4.5) 30
Texas 35
Arkansas(+7.5) 29
Kentucky(-5.5) 38
Missouri 31
Texas A&M 41
Colorado(+16.5) 27
Last week 6-2 (4-4 against the spread)
Follow me on Twitter https://twitter.com/Joshes_Journal
If you are against UT self imposing a bowl ban, click
and give this tweet a retweet.
Also, sign Tony's petition
I would like to extend my condolences to the family of Keith Hatfield. I didn't know him personally but I did enjoy our back-and-forth exchanges on Twitter. He was good people. Rest easy Keith.
That's all I have for this week. Enjoy this football weekend. We only get so many a year and tomorrow isn't promised Don't take it for granted. Fill Neyland and be loud. Tennessee needs this win. Go Vols and God Bless!