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Tennessee football vs. Bowling Green: 10 keys to the game

By Caleb Calhoun

KNOXVILLE, TN - OCTOBER 29: A general view of Neyland Stadium during the South Carolina Gamecocks game against the Tennessee Volunteers on October 29, 2011 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - OCTOBER 29: A general view of Neyland Stadium during the South Carolina Gamecocks game against the Tennessee Volunteers on October 29, 2011 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
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SANTA BARBARA, CA – DECEMBER 09: The NCAA logo on the field before the Division I Men’s Soccer Championship between the Maryland Terrapins and the Akron Zips held at Meredith Field at Harder Stadium on December 9, 2018 in Santa Barbara, California. Maryland defeated Akron 1-0 for the national title. (Photo by G Fiume/Maryland Terrapins/Getty Images)
SANTA BARBARA, CA – DECEMBER 09: The NCAA logo on the field before the Division I Men’s Soccer Championship between the Maryland Terrapins and the Akron Zips held at Meredith Field at Harder Stadium on December 9, 2018 in Santa Barbara, California. Maryland defeated Akron 1-0 for the national title. (Photo by G Fiume/Maryland Terrapins/Getty Images) /

9. Off-field distractions

Both teams, like the rest of the nation, kick off the season hoping to have a normal schedule amidst another COVID wave. Last year’s slate was depressing for everybody involved, and it just didn’t seem real. That’s the exciting part about returning to normal, even if the Delta Variant has created new concerns throughout the country.

However, will this excitement and the concerns affect the players’ minds? If so, who gets affected more? Is there a chance that somebody can’t go due to an infection? All of these things are up in the air, and beyond personnel, they are off-field distractions.

Then there’s the one big off-field distraction for Tennessee football. The Vols have a new head coach for a reason. They are in the midst of an NCAA investigation based on violations that occurred under Jeremy Pruitt.

It’s not clear still what the results of that investigation will be. If UT receives a bowl ban, that could impact the effort of the players given what’s in their minds. However, being in a state of limbo could also affect them. As a result, no matter what, this is going to be a factor until the investigation concludes and no bowl ban is received. Players have to tune this out.

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