Tennessee football vs. Missouri: Keys to the game

7. Will Missouri dominate third down conversions?

There are two different stories with this team on third downs. The Missouri Tigers were actually solid on third downs against the Alabama Crimson Tide, converting on eight of 16 of them. If they keep that 50 percent rate going forward, Eliah Drinkwitz could turn them into a major surprise team in the SEC during his first year on the job. Bama is just too hard to beat regardless.

On the other hand, Tennessee football was an abysmal one-for-11 on third downs. The Vols’ only conversion was a one-handed grab by Brandon Johnson that became a highlight reel throughout the weekend. Many of their failed conversions were on third and manageable, including a couple of times where they had three yards or fewer to go. Simply put, it was awful.

If that difference remains in this game, the Vols could be in serious trouble. Now, to be fair, you could say Mizzou’s third down defense was horrible, as the Tigers allowed nine conversions on 14 attempts. However, they were facing Alabama, as we keep pointing out. Also, UT wasn’t superb on stopping third downs, even if they held the South Carolina Gamecocks to six-of-15.

Simply put, this appears to be an advantage for the Tigers at the moment. Lots of the Vols’ failed conversions were just on their failure to execute, not anything the USC defense did. If they don’t fix that, Missouri has a major in to make this a game, which is the last thing Vols fans want.