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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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Sep 6, 2021; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Mississippi Rebels linebacker Austin Keys (11) celebrates with defensive lineman KD Hill (55) after a fumble recovery against the Louisville Cardinals in the second quarter at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 6, 2021; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Mississippi Rebels linebacker Austin Keys (11) celebrates with defensive lineman KD Hill (55) after a fumble recovery against the Louisville Cardinals in the second quarter at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports /

5. Will Rebels’ ability to force fumbles bring back early-season Vols?

Early in the season, Tennessee football was horrendous at taking care of the ball. The Vols lost two fumbles against both Bowling Green and Pitt, and they lost another one against Tennessee Tech. Those five fumbles still have them outside of the top 100 for the year in terms of worst teams when it comes to fumbling the ball. That’s how bad it was.

However, since that TTU game, they haven’t lost a fumble. In fact, they haven’t turned the ball over in general, but that’s a different story we’ll get to soon enough. Anyway, Josh Heupel’s team taking care of the ball has done wonders for the offense, and it’s showing.

Ole Miss, on the other hand, lives by forcing fumbles. That’s the way their defense gets stops. They are tied for No. 24 nationally in fumbles forced on the year with five, and when you consider the fact that they have only played five games, they are actually No. 12 nationally in fumbles forced per game.

Simply put, this unit is aggressive, and just last week, a key fumble by Arkansas running back Raheim Sanders in the first half on Ole Miss territory turned out to be the difference in the game. Will the same thing happen this week? Well, it all depends on which UT team shows up.

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