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Tennessee football vs. Pitt: 10 keys to the game

By Caleb Calhoun

Oct 20, 2018; Knoxville, TN, USA; Fans outside Neyland Stadium before a game between the Tennessee Volunteers and Alabama Crimson Tide. Mandatory Credit: Bryan Lynn-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 20, 2018; Knoxville, TN, USA; Fans outside Neyland Stadium before a game between the Tennessee Volunteers and Alabama Crimson Tide. Mandatory Credit: Bryan Lynn-USA TODAY Sports /
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Sep 22, 2018; Knoxville, TN, USA; General view of Neyland Stadium during the fourth quarter of the game between the Florida Gators and the Tennessee Volunteers. Florida won 47 to 21. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 22, 2018; Knoxville, TN, USA; General view of Neyland Stadium during the fourth quarter of the game between the Florida Gators and the Tennessee Volunteers. Florida won 47 to 21. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports /

5. How much of a red zone advantage will the Vols have?

Both teams played horrendous programs last week, so you can take them with a grain of salt, but it’s still interesting how much of a difference the red zone play between them was. One had a clear advantage and was much more efficient throughout their opener.

That one team was Tennessee football. The Vols scored on every trip inside the 20 and found the end zone all but one time. It’s not like this was a small sample size either, as they made it down there five times, and all four touchdowns were on the ground. Even against a team like Bowling Green, that’s a decent sign of things going forward.

It was different for Pitt. Early on, they were highly efficient in the red zone. However, they failed on their last two trips to score even a point. Now, to be fair, they had 10 trips down there and more opportunities to mess up. But scoring on only eight of those trips is not a good sign, although seven of those eight scores were touchdowns.

What really stands out is the fact that both teams did the bulk of their scoring after reaching the red zone. They’ll be relying on such efficiency throughout the year, but right now, it looks like the efficiency favors UT. In a close game, that and field goal kicking could be the difference.

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