Tennessee football vs. Missouri: Keys to the game

8. Which team can establish a rushing attack?

In its opener, Tennessee football had 133 yards on the ground and averaged four yards a carry. If you take out the sacks, they had 31 carries for 146 yards, including 25 yards and a touchdown from Jarrett Guarantano, 40 yards and a touchdown from Eric Gray and 86 yards on just 13 carries with an average of over six and a half yards a carry from Ty Chandler. That’s all solid.

On the other hand, the Missouri Tigers held the Alabama Crimson Tide to barely over three yards a carry, although Najee Harris did average nearly six yards and had 98 yards and three touchdowns. Still, they were facing an elite offensive line, and Ryan Walters’ defense wasn’t terrible, even if the defensive line didn’t get a push.

Now, the Vols held the South Carolina Gamecocks to two and a half yards a carry on the ground, but Larry Rountree III averaged nearly five yards a carry against that vaunted Alabama defense. Simply put, both teams have weapons at running back, both showed themselves to be able to stop the run last week, and both will want to run the ball this week.

Taking that into account, who gets the advantage? All the storylines are about the passing game for these teams right now, but the run game could make the biggest difference. The first offense to establish balance will have a major advantage. It really comes down to Rountree or Chandler as the workhorse back who can shoulder a heavier burden early.