4. How many turnovers can Tennessee force?
Up until last week, Tennessee football had one of the worst turnover margins in the nation. They had forced only one turnover through two games and committed four. However, against the Chattanooga Mocs, they forced five turnovers and even blocked a punt that they ran in for a touchdown, bringing their margin to plus-two.
On the other hand, the Florida Gators have a turnover margin of 0. They force on average two turnovers a game and give up on average two turnovers a game. With both teams having played one FCS school each, there is some validity to this data now. At this point, the question is if UT can force turnovers like it did last week.
Last year, Florida won because they forced six turnovers and a safety. Going into this week, the Vols seem to have the turnover margin edge. But they haven’t proven they can do such things against an FBS opponent yet, and that’s what Jeremy Pruitt has to work on. With Florida relying on an immobile quarterback now, they may have a chance.
Daniel Bituli’s return to health may have made as much of an impact on the improvement in forcing turnovers as the opponent last week, and Bryce Thompson possibly playing this week could even make it more impactful. But we won’t know for sure until these two teams square off in Gainesville on Saturday. If the Vols can keep cashing in on mistakes, they may have a chance.