Tennessee football vs. Vanderbilt: 10 keys for Vols and Commodores

8. Will the Vols be able to limit special teams mistakes?

It’s a new issue, or at least one that has now come to light. Snapping on punts has been problematic all year, and it’s why Tennessee football hasn’t kept up the title of Punter U that it has been enjoying over the past few years. But against the Missouri Tigers, other issues on special teams began to come to light.

Sure, the punt averages were terrible, under 40 yards a punt with none pinned inside the 20. But then Brent Cimaglia, whose leg has been the Vols’ biggest advantage all year, had two field goals blocked. Neither were his fault, but it doesn’t matter. Cimaglia’s elite play is rendered meaningless if he doesn’t get the protection to get the kick off.

On top of that, there were multiple mental errors elsewhere. Jeremy Pruitt was screaming that a fake punt was coming on one play, but the Vols were not prepared for it and allowed Mizzou to convert anyway. Then, Marquez Callaway called fair-catch on a kickoff but let the ball bounce, which meant that he would get it where he fielded it, and that was inside the 20.

Vanderbilt kicker Ryley Guay has made eight-of-10 attempts this year, and Javan Rice made his only attempt. So they won’t have any issues on field goals, and they are good enough on punts with 42.5 yards a kick. As a result, UT could be in big trouble with a couple of special teams errors that keep them in the game.