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Tennessee football at Pitt: 10 keys to the game

By Caleb Calhoun

Sep 1, 2018; Charlotte, NC, USA; A Tennessee Volunteers player holds their helmet along the sidelines during the second quarter at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 1, 2018; Charlotte, NC, USA; A Tennessee Volunteers player holds their helmet along the sidelines during the second quarter at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports /
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Aug 7, 2021; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Detailed view of a yellow penalty flag on the field during the Arizona Cardinals Red and White training camp practice at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 7, 2021; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Detailed view of a yellow penalty flag on the field during the Arizona Cardinals Red and White training camp practice at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports /

3. Will the Vols get dominated in penalties and turnovers again?

Once again, it depends on which Tennessee football team you get. The Vols weren’t horrible on penalties last year, and they actually won the turnover battle for the year, but they would have games where penalties were just atrocious. Both those and turnovers cost them when they faced Pitt at home last year.

UT lost three turnovers while Pitt committed none. Worse for them was the fact that they had 13 penalties and gave up 134 yards on them. It’s not like Pitt was good on penalties, committing nine and surrendering 76 yards, but the Vols were so bad there that their issues became the story.

In this year’s openers, both teams struggled again. Pitt had eight penalties for 76 yards, and the Vols were not bad but just mediocre, committing six penalties for 48 yards. Technically, Pitt did surrender more penalty yards last year despite being better in the turnover margin, but again, the Vols would have atrocious outings that they never dealt with.

As a result, you have to assume UT won’t have the advantage in penalties this year, and they certainly aren’t likely to in turnovers, so the question is whether or not they can avoid getting dominated like they did last year. If they can, they’ve got a good shot.

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