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Tennessee football: Five things to improve during bye week

By Caleb Calhoun

Tennessee players review plays on the sideline during the Alabama and Tennessee football game at Neyland Stadium at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tenn., on Saturday, Oct. 24, 2020.Tennessee Vs Alabama Football 100369
Tennessee players review plays on the sideline during the Alabama and Tennessee football game at Neyland Stadium at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tenn., on Saturday, Oct. 24, 2020.Tennessee Vs Alabama Football 100369 /
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PITTSBURGH, PA – AUGUST 26: A penalty flag is seen uring a preseason game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Indianapolis Colts on August 26, 2017 at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images) *** Local Caption ***
PITTSBURGH, PA – AUGUST 26: A penalty flag is seen uring a preseason game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Indianapolis Colts on August 26, 2017 at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** /

5. Penalties

Through two games, Tennessee football was one of the best at not allowing penalty yards. However, after their play over the past three weeks, everything has changed. UT is now 10th in the SEC in fewest penalty yards per game, as they allow right at 50. These issues are a huge reason for at least two of their losses on the year.

Against the Georgia Bulldogs, the Vols had 10 penalties for 84 yards. One was a targeting penalty that knocked out Deandre Johnson, UT’s best pass-rusher, and then kept UGA’s first touchdown drive alive. There were also numerous false starts and holding penalties by the offensive line, as Kirby Smart’s shifts on the defensive line confused the UT front all day.

One week later, the Vols had six penalties for 63 yards against the Kentucky Wildcats. One was a chop-block that forced a 2nd and long and resulted in one of the interceptions to spot UK a field goal. Another was a personal foul by Ramel Keyton in the second half to kill a drive with the Vols still having an outside chance to get back in the game.

To be fair, this team only had eight penalties for 33 yards against the Alabama Crimson Tide, but Alabama was a sure blowout loss anyway. These guys could have had a chance against Georgia and Kentucky without such issues, and the mistakes turned both games into embarrassing blowout losses. They need to spend this off-week working on limiting such unforced errors.

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