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Tennessee football vs. Purdue: 10 keys to the Music City Bowl game

By Caleb Calhoun

Nov 14, 2021; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; View of Nissan Stadium before the game between the Tennessee Titans and the New Orleans Saints. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 14, 2021; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; View of Nissan Stadium before the game between the Tennessee Titans and the New Orleans Saints. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports /
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Tennessee Head Coach Josh Heupel during an SEC football game between Tennessee and Kentucky at Kroger Field in Lexington, Ky. on Saturday, Nov. 6, 2021.Kns Tennessee Kentucky Football
Tennessee Head Coach Josh Heupel during an SEC football game between Tennessee and Kentucky at Kroger Field in Lexington, Ky. on Saturday, Nov. 6, 2021.Kns Tennessee Kentucky Football /

5. Who controls the tempo of the game?

As mentioned, both teams win with efficient offenses, but they do it in different ways. Tennessee football is all about scoring and scoring fast. They are dead last in the country in time of possession but average over 2.98 plays per minute. That’s led them to having a top 10 scoring offense while also giving up lots of yards per game.

It’s the opposite with Purdue. They run 73 plays per game but are No. 16 in time of possession, averaging 2.28 plays per minute. That’s 0.7 fewer plays per minute, which is a huge drop-off in the course of the game. As a result, the team that dictates the flow will win.

If you look at what happened against the Kentucky Wildcats, when UT had the ball for less than 14 minutes, they proved they don’t need a lot of time to win. However, Purdue is not Kentucky, and if they have the ball a lot, it does mean they are moving it methodically.

What’s so ironic about this is that Purdue would seem to play the type of game conducive to not caring about time of possession. They throw it 44 times and average over 340 of their 424.8 yards through the air, while UT runs it nearly 43 times and averages over 200 yards rushing. However, that’s what makes this game and matchup so unique.

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