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Tennessee football vs. South Alabama: 10 keys to the game

By Caleb Calhoun

A military flyover passers over Neyland Stadium before an NCAA college football game between the Tennessee Volunteers and the South Carolina Gamecocks in Knoxville, Tenn. on Saturday, Oct. 9, 2021.Kns Tennessee South Carolina Football
A military flyover passers over Neyland Stadium before an NCAA college football game between the Tennessee Volunteers and the South Carolina Gamecocks in Knoxville, Tenn. on Saturday, Oct. 9, 2021.Kns Tennessee South Carolina Football /
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Tennessee running back Tiyon Evans (8) runs for a touchdown during a NCAA football game between the Tennessee Volunteers and the South Carolina Gamecocks at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn. on Saturday, Oct. 9, 2021.Kns Tennessee South Carolina Football Bp
Tennessee running back Tiyon Evans (8) runs for a touchdown during a NCAA football game between the Tennessee Volunteers and the South Carolina Gamecocks at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn. on Saturday, Oct. 9, 2021.Kns Tennessee South Carolina Football Bp /

9. First quarter Vols vs. Second quarter Jaguars

A story surrounding Tennessee football all year didn’t even change last week. They lost 41-17 to Georgia, but still led 10-7 after the first quarter. The Vols are No. 1 in first quarter scoring and have a first-quarter margin of plus 10 per game. Meanwhile, South Alabama is No. 95 in first quarter defense and No. 96 in first quarter scoring and has a margin of minus 3.2 per game.

As a result, the Vols should take a huge lead in the first quarter. How big of a lead they take will determine if this could ever become interesting, as it gets reversed in the second quarter. South Alabama is No. 18 in scoring and No. 41 in defense with a margin of plus 4.7 per game while UT is No. 120 in defense and No. 84 in scoring with a margin if minus 6.3 per game.

Simply put, South Alabama will cut it closer in he second quarter. In the second half, both teams are slightly in the positive in the third quarter and in the negative in the fourth quarter. However, South Alabama’s third quarter positive (+1.5) is greater than UT’s (+0.8), and their fourth quarter negative (-0.2) isn’t as bad as UT’s (-1.8).

Taking all of that into account, it’s pretty clear that the Vols desperately need to get as big of a first quarter lead as possible. If not, South Alabama could start to make this interesting by hanging around, and all the pressure will then be on Rocky Top.

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