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Tennessee football vs. WVU: Vols and Mountaineers keys to the game

By Caleb Calhoun

CHARLOTTE, NC - SEPTEMBER 01: A general view of Bank of America Stadium before the preseason game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Carolina Panthers on September 1, 2011 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
CHARLOTTE, NC - SEPTEMBER 01: A general view of Bank of America Stadium before the preseason game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Carolina Panthers on September 1, 2011 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /
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1. Early poise in the game

Tennessee football just needs to look back at one of its most basic values on Saturday. If at first the game – or the breaks – go against you, don’t let up… put on more steam. That’s General Neyland’s third game maxim, and it’s going to be huge in this game.

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    • Given everything we said, there are going to be big plays in this game. The West Virginia Mountaineers are going to score quite a bit with Will Grier torching the Vols’ secondary. Meanwhile, the distractions on both sides will be in everybody’s head.

    The best determinant as to who wins this game will come down to which team can keep their poise. There are going to be far too many opportunities for big plays and turnovers in this game. When they happen, inevitably, the team that they happen against will need to remain focused.

    Which team does that best? One team is definitely going to jump out early in this game and may even develop a big lead. You then might have the other team respond by going on its own run and snatching the momentum back.

    This will be a game of dramatic momentum shifts throughout. As we already said, both fight songs will play a lot. They will also both play early. West Virginia knows they can win. But the Vols have less pressure going into the game.

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    As a result, both teams have psychological advantages. But only one can seize the early momentum. How the other team responds to that could be the difference in the entire game. Each team will expect to change the game a lot. If Tennessee football wants to pull off the upset, they need to remain calm when it happens. They could also hope for WVU to panic.

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