All for Tennessee
Fansided

Tennessee vs. Kentucky: Three Keys for Each Team

By Caleb Calhoun

facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 7
Next

Oct 15, 2015; Lexington, KY, USA; Kentucky Wildcats quarterback Patrick Towles (14) passes the ball against the Auburn Tigers in the second half at Commonwealth Stadium. Auburn defeated Kentucky 30-27. Mandatory Credit: Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports

1A. Tennessee: Get Pressure on Patrick Towles

When Kentucky lost to Florida, Patrick Towles was sacked six times. Despite their defense holding the Gators and Will Grier to 14 points, those sacks from Florida’s elite front seven cost them the game.

While there are plenty of things the Vols can do to beat the Wildcats, the meat of the game is simple: get pressure on Towles, and there is no way they lose the game.

Tennessee does not have the same weapons on defense in the front seven that Florida has, but a pass rush anchored by Derek Barnett with help from Corey Vereen and then Owen Williams is definitely effective given all the injuries that have happened. Just ask Alabama how much trouble Tennessee’s pass rush can be.

Towles is rendered useless if you keep him in the pocket and get to him, but part of this will be on John Jancek. He needs to dial up a few blitz packages to keep the offense off balance as well. Doing that should be enough.

Live Feed

UTSA vs. Tennessee Prediction, Odds, Trends and Key Players for College Football Week 4
UTSA vs. Tennessee Prediction, Odds, Trends and Key Players for College Football Week 4 /

Betsided

  • 2023 Week 4 AP Poll Top 25: Every SEC team’s highest, lowest spot on ballot South Bound & Down
  • SEC Standings: What does upset do for Florida football? FanSided
  • Three reasons that Florida was able to beat top-ranked Tennessee FanSided
  • 5 College Football Playoff contenders who haven’t played like it yet FanSided
  • SEC Football: Florida, LSU rise in Week 4 2023 power rankings South Bound & Down

    • Jalen Reeves-Maybin and Darrin Kirkland Jr. are very skilled at going after the quarterback, and a few safety blitzes would be nice also. Even if Tennessee has trouble stopping the run, and they have, they can use these guys to get significant pressure.

    Doing that will assure them a victory, no matter how ugly it is.

    However, there is one factor in Kentucky’s favor that brings us to our next key to this football game.

    Next: Kentucky Key #1: Use Patrick Towles's Mobility

    Home/Vols Football