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Tennessee football: Vols should run all over West Virginia’s defense

By Billy Williford

GAINESVILLE, FL - SEPTEMBER 16: Ty Chandler #3 of the Tennessee Volunteers runs away from Marco Wilson #3 of the Florida Gators during the second half of their game at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on September 16, 2017 in Gainesville, Florida. (Photo by Scott Halleran/Getty Images)
GAINESVILLE, FL - SEPTEMBER 16: Ty Chandler #3 of the Tennessee Volunteers runs away from Marco Wilson #3 of the Florida Gators during the second half of their game at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on September 16, 2017 in Gainesville, Florida. (Photo by Scott Halleran/Getty Images) /
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We are less than two weeks ago from seeing the 2018 version of the Tennessee football team. It could be a good start to the season for the running backs as they play a weak Mountaineers defense.

Only one Saturday stands in the way of seeing the 2018 Tennessee football team play the Mountaineers from West Virginia. If you pay attention to what West Virginia fans have to say, then we might as well not even play the game.

On September 1, Vol fans will get their first chance to see how first-year head coach Jeremy Pruitt handles the pressure of running a big-time SEC program. Odds are it won’t affect him, he seems like he is ready for the job.

One thing for sure is he is probably licking his chops when he watches film of the West Virginia defense. They are awful. Plain and simple, awful. Particularly their rushing defense.

According to the stats on NCAA.org West Virginia had the 103 ranked rushing defense in the nation last season. In 13 games they gave up 204.2 rushing yards to opponents per game.

Here is a breakdown of how many rushing yards they gave up in each game. Virginia Tech – 234 yards, East Carolina University – 142 yards, Delaware State – 161 yards, Kansas – 367 yards, TCU – 170 yards, Texas Tech – 190 yards, Baylor – 127 yards, Oklahoma State – 246 yards, Iowa State – 101 yards, Kansas State – 173 yards, Texas 233 yards, Oklahoma 313 yards, and Utah – 197 yards.

Taking a quick glance at the list, the Kansas game stands out. How in the world do you give up 367 rushing yards to the Kansas Jayhawks? They only had five games where they rushed for over 100 yards. Moreover, the Jayhawks had six games where they didn’t get over 75 yards rushing.

On the homefront, Tennesse had seven games where they rushed for over 100 yards. And, in the Kentucky game, the Vols registered 203 yards on the ground, which was a breakout game for freshman, Ty Chandler.

Tennessee also ran for 183 yards against Florida, 146 against Missouri, and 120 against South Carolina. All three of those games were losses.

Next. Top 10 potential dark-horse Vols for 2018 season. dark

Ty Chandler should have a breakout season. In fact, the entire running back crew should be a strong suit for the 2018 team. They could be the difference in a couple of swing games, including against West Virginia.

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