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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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Dec 30, 2021; Nashville, TN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers running back Jabari Small (2) runs the ball against the Purdue Boilermakers during the second half at Nissan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 30, 2021; Nashville, TN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers running back Jabari Small (2) runs the ball against the Purdue Boilermakers during the second half at Nissan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-USA TODAY Sports /

2. How much will the Vols dominate the run game?

Welcome to Tennessee football’s biggest advantage. Pitt is committed to the run game given their new personnel, but they aren’t good at it. Against WVU, they had just 76 yards on 38 carries as a team. Now, to be fair, Kedon Slovies was sacked five times, and if you take out the seven attempts and 20 yards he lost, this team had 31 carries for 96 yards.

Still, that’s barely over three yards a carry. Meanwhile, the Vols were dominant on the ground. Okay, so it was against Ball State, but they had 51 carries for 218 yards. Also, Ball State was using its experienced linebackers to make sure the middle was covered, and that made breaking off big gains harder than they usually are.

Not only are the Vols good at running the ball, but they appear to be in good shape stopping the run. Ball State had 74 yards on 27 carries despite not being sacked once. Pitt, meanwhile, appears like they will have trouble stopping the run, as they gave up 190 yards on 33 carries to WVU.

Taking all of this into account, despite Pitt’s desire to rely more on ball control, Tennessee football appears to be the one that will have the edge in the run game. As a result, if the Vols are going to win, they have to dominate here. Pitt has the edge if they just keep this close.

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