Tennessee football: Five things to improve during bye week

These are areas of improvement for the 2-3 Tennessee football Volunteers.

Amidst a three-game losing streak, all of which are blowout losses and one of which is a 27-point loss at home to the Kentucky Wildcats, it’s clear Tennessee football has a lot of work to do during this off-week. Jeremy Pruitt said as much in his Wednesday press conference.

This is not the same team that started the season 2-0 and reached the top 15. Something has happened since then, and while losses to the Georgia Bulldogs and Alabama Crimson Tide are nothing to be ashamed of, the way things have played out through three weeks are.

Sure, you can bring up the injuries or the amount of missed practice due to infections, but Tennessee football is not unique in such issues. They are affecting every team in the SEC and in the nation.

So what are the issues that have brought Pruitt under fire once again in his third year on the job? Well, some of them have plagued the program all year, but a few of them only managed to surface once this team began losing. As we get set to look at the things UT needs to improve upon this year, all of them will apply, though.

With the Vanderbilt Commodores the only likely win left on the slate and road games against the Arkansas Razorbacks and Auburn Tigers still to come, it’s urgent that Pruitt and his staff improve these things. The only home games left are the Texas A&M Aggies and Florida Gators.

Simply put, the Vols have a tough road ahead, and if they don’t fix the major issues that have plagued them through the past few weeks, then 3-7 could definitely be on the table. What has been plaguing them, though? How can they fix it? Let’s break it down here. These are the five things Tennessee football needs to improve halfway through the season.