Tennessee football vs. Missouri: Keys to the game

5. Missouri’s ability to generate any pass rush

While Tennessee football’s pass rush in the story, the Missouri Tigers need to figure out a way to do something in that area. Remember when Mizzou was a factory for elite pass rushers back in the Gary Pinkel years? That was part of their system. Well, that hasn’t been the case in recent years, and Ryan Walters was hoping to get back to that this season.

With some talent in linebacker in guys like Nick Bolton, that should be possible. However, against the Alabama Crimson Tide, Mizzou only had two sacks, and they didn’t have any quarterback hurries. Now, we don’t know what to make of this or if we should read too much into it, because again, this is Alabama we’re talking about here. They may not allow many sacks all year.

However, the Tigers had an issue on this front last year and were hoping to improve on it. We’ll get a better read of where they stand this week against the Vols, but the Vols being the test launch for it makes this a key. UT was solid last weekend, getting sacked twice and only allowing one hurry, and its offensive line is one of the best in the SEC. But Mizzou is a bit of an unknown commodity.

As a result, Missouri needs to figure out a way for this pass rush to come alive. That will give the Tigers a great chance at making this a game, even if they aren’t able to match the pass rush brought about by Rocky Top.