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Tennessee football vs. Akron: 10 keys to the game

By Caleb Calhoun

A worker works on the S of the newly re-installed V-O-L-S letters on the south side of Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn. on Wednesday, July 6, 2022. The letters were taken down in 1999. The re-installation of the letters are part of Phase I renovations to the stadium which include two new videoboards on the north and south ends of the stadium, a lower-west premium club, enhanced chairback seating in multiple lower-west sections and a party deck on the upper north end.RANK2 Kns Vols Letters
A worker works on the S of the newly re-installed V-O-L-S letters on the south side of Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn. on Wednesday, July 6, 2022. The letters were taken down in 1999. The re-installation of the letters are part of Phase I renovations to the stadium which include two new videoboards on the north and south ends of the stadium, a lower-west premium club, enhanced chairback seating in multiple lower-west sections and a party deck on the upper north end.RANK2 Kns Vols Letters /
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Tennessee punter/placekicker Paxton Brooks (37) preparers to take the field before a game between the Tennessee Volunteers and Pittsburgh Panthers in Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh, Saturday, Sept. 10, 2022.Tennpitt0910 00133
Tennessee punter/placekicker Paxton Brooks (37) preparers to take the field before a game between the Tennessee Volunteers and Pittsburgh Panthers in Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh, Saturday, Sept. 10, 2022.Tennpitt0910 00133 /

5. Kicking woes of Akron vs. punt game woes of Vols

We mentioned the Trevon Flowers muffed punt on the previous slide. That’s indicative of the punt game issues Tennessee football had in general last week. It actually started in the first half, when Paxton Brooks shanked a punt 30 yards. However, in the second half, disaster hit.

Flowers’ muffed punt set up Pitt for the game-tying touchdown. Before that, though, Brooks had a punt blocked. Despite the defense consistently making stands, the special teams unit along with the offense kept doing things to put Pitt back in the game, and the punt game was the sole culprit when it came to special teams.

It’s not like Akron isn’t without special teams issues, though. Kicker Cory Smigel has already missed an extra point on the year and is 1-of-3 on field goals, only hitting a 25-yarder. That’s an advantage for the Vols, as Chase McGrath has hit every kick this year so far, including a 51-yarder last week, while two misses by Pitt’s kicker proved costly.

Which special teams disparity will have a greater impact on this game? Place kicking is usually the biggest part of special teams, but if you have miscues like Tennessee football had last week on punt returns, anything is possible, so pay attention to what happens here.

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