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Tennessee football vs. TTU: 10 keys to the game

By Caleb Calhoun

KNOXVILLE, TN - SEPTEMBER 09: The Tennessee Volunteers celebrate a touchdown during the game against the Indiana State Sycamores at Neyland Stadium on September 9, 2017 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - SEPTEMBER 09: The Tennessee Volunteers celebrate a touchdown during the game against the Indiana State Sycamores at Neyland Stadium on September 9, 2017 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /
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Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles head coach Dewayne Alexander watches his team during the second half at Fortera Stadium Saturday, Oct. 27, 2018, in Clarksville, Tenn.P1 6028
Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles head coach Dewayne Alexander watches his team during the second half at Fortera Stadium Saturday, Oct. 27, 2018, in Clarksville, Tenn.P1 6028 /

On paper, Tennessee football should coast to victory. The Vols are facing the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles, an FCS team that is 0-2 after two blowout losses to other non-FBS teams. UT has won every game against an FCS school by at least 26 points ever since they started playing them annually back in 2010, with the exception of last year, when COVID kept them from playing one.

Heck, in their last eight straight games against FCS programs, they have won all of them by at least 35 points. They even beat this TTU program back in 2016 55-0, and they were coming off a three-game losing streak then. Simply put, UT doesn’t let FCS teams slip up on them.

However, anything can happen. As Dewayne Alexander’s team tries to get something going, they could detect a slight weakness in Tennessee football. Imagine if Josh Heupel managed to accidentally lose this game, or even struggle, right before SEC play. Here’s what will determine whether or not he does. These are the 10 keys to the game between the Vols and TTU.

10. Confidence of TTU after 0-2 start

This will determine whether or not TTU has a chance to make this a game early at all. The Golden Eagles are 0-2 with losses to the Samford Bulldogs and Furman Paladins, and they were blown out by both teams. How in the world are they supposed to think they could compete with an FBS program given those losses?

Sure, TTU would put every bit of its entire season’s energy into beating the Vols, just like the Vanderbilt Commodores do every year, but they have to have some confidence that they could make it interesting. Vandy always does.

Now, even if they have the right amount of confidence, they may still not have enough to make it interesting. However, there’s no way TTU can bring the effort it needs to bring against Tennessee football if the confidence isn’t there first. As a result, this has to be the first step. If TTU can’t have the right mindset for the game, nothing else will matter.

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