Tennessee Vols Midseason: Five Things to Address During Bye Week

Oct 10, 2015; Knoxville, TN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers head coach Butch Jones waves to fans as he celebrates with his team after defeating the Georgia Bulldogs during the second half at Neyland Stadium. Tennessee won 38-31. Mandatory Credit: Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports

The Tennessee Vols are 3-3 entering their bye week. Here are five things the Volunteers football team needs to address with the Alabama two weeks away.

Despite a sickening start to the season and a feeling that the 2015 year would be another wasted opportunity, the Tennessee Vols may have righted the ship with a huge victory over the Georgia Bulldogs on Saturday.

Yes, they only go into their bye week at 3-3, but it is with lots more excitement than there was when they were 2-3 and just lost to the Arkansas Razorbacks.

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With Alabama the only ranked team on the schedule, Tennessee fans can hope for at least an 8-4 finish, which would be their best season since 2007.

The only other questionable games would be Missouri and Kentucky on the road and maybe South Carolina at home because you never know what the Gamecocks could turn into.

But all three of those games should be circled wins at this point.

The Vols showed they have plenty of positives throughout the first five games, including great running by Jalen Hurd, an incredible amount of versatility from Joshua Dobbs, a great pass rush, and emerging linebackers at this point.

However, things we had serious concerns about going into the football season came to fruition in those three losses too, so there are plenty of things the Vols could work on.

One of those issues, though, fortunately appears to have been addressed: the Vols finally have gained some mental toughness, which they showed with their victory over Georgia.

But there are other glaring holes on this football team that even came through in the victory over Georgia.

Fortunately, they have two weeks to get ready for Alabama. Here are the five things the Tennessee Vols need to work on during their bye week before they play that game.

Next: #5: Nickel is a Huge Issue