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Tennessee football vs. Ole Miss: 10 keys to the game for Vols and Rebels

By Caleb Calhoun

Dec 5, 2020; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; Footballs lay on the field before the game between the Tennessee Volunteers and the Florida Gators at Neyland Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 5, 2020; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; Footballs lay on the field before the game between the Tennessee Volunteers and the Florida Gators at Neyland Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports /
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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 /

Lane Kiffin was two weeks early when he told everybody to get their popcorn ready. That obviously should have been saved for when Tennessee football hosted the Ole Miss Rebels. The two best offenses in the SEC are set to go at it in what should be a Saturday night thriller, one that everybody who can watch will be watching.

It seems obvious that the only real key to this game is getting a stop defensively. There won’t be many of those throughout the night, so whichever team can just get one or two is in the best position to pull out the win. However, getting that stop will be tough.

Lots of factors will go into each team’s efforts in this massive shootout, and miscues on both sides of the ball aren’t excluded. Kiffin’s return to Rocky Top is set to be met with a bunch of fireworks, and half of those should come from touchdowns scored. What will determine the victor? These are our 10 keys to the game between Tennessee football and Ole Miss.

10. Neyland Stadium’s hostility to Ole Miss

A night game, the return of Checker Neyland and the hostility towards Kiffin are all relevant factors that could make this game a thriller. Josh Heupel called for fans to be hostile, and his call appears to be getting answered, as the game was sold out by Tuesday night. Nobody saw that coming at this point last week.

What does it mean going forward? Well, Ole Miss has only played one road game, and it was their blowout loss to the Alabama Crimson Tide. As a result, there are legitimate questions as to how this team can handle crowd noise, particularly given how complex their offense is.

Sure, the Rebels were 2-2 on the road last year, but there wasn’t the same home-field advantage given the COVID restrictions. Tennessee football’s crowd noise could be unlike anything the Rebels have dealt with in recent years. As a result, they have to be ready. If the fans do their part, there’s a chance Ole Miss will have enough offensive miscues to lose.

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