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Tennessee football vs. Charlotte: 10 keys for Vols and 49ers

By Caleb Calhoun

KNOXVILLE, TN - SEPTEMBER 15: A view of the outside of Neyland Stadium before a game between the Florida Gators and Tennessee Volunteers on September 15, 2012 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by John Sommers II/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - SEPTEMBER 15: A view of the outside of Neyland Stadium before a game between the Florida Gators and Tennessee Volunteers on September 15, 2012 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by John Sommers II/Getty Images) /
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10. Tennessee’s focus amid homecoming

Let’s call it what it is. There are numerous reasons for Tennessee football to not take this game seriously, and that could become a huge problem for the Vols considering the fact that they are playing a decent team.

For starters, it’s a trap game. This is caught between the brutal five-game SEC run and the stretch run of the season to get to a bowl. Coming off the loss to the South Carolina Gamecocks, Jeremy Pruitt’s team will be thinking about who they have to beat in their final three games to get to a bowl. This will be an afterthought even as they are on the field.

Meanwhile, the Vols have all the homecoming festivities that go with it. We know with a new head coach that those will create more distractions than they usually do, as Pruitt is still in a bit of his honeymoon phase.

Simply put, there are plenty of ways the Vols could get distracted. And that would be just enough for the Charlotte 49ers to come in and make this a game. Hey, they have the coaching and the talent to maybe do that for a little while. And who knows where things go from there.

This is why UT has to be locked in all game. They can’t afford to take this lightly at all. Their focus has to be dominating early to make sure there is no threat, and everything else about the scope of the season can become a focus afterward.

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