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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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Nov 27, 2021; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; Tennessee Volunteers running back Jabari Small (2) during warm ups before the game against the Vanderbilt Commodores at Neyland Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 27, 2021; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; Tennessee Volunteers running back Jabari Small (2) during warm ups before the game against the Vanderbilt Commodores at Neyland Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports /

2. Will Akron stop the run at all?

Last week, Tennessee football seemingly had issues in the run game beyond just Jaylen Wright’s fumble. They only had 35 carried for 91 yards. However, Alex Golesh seems to think that was more about the schemes than it was the Vols having trouble moving the ball. He noted Jabari Small had three one-yard runs, one for a first down and two for touchdowns.

The week before, the Vols gained over 200 yards on the ground, and they have multiple options to run it. Hendon Hooker himself is a threat, as he was last week because of the way Pitt was playing, and Small and Wright provide different changes of pace for UT back there.

Akron, meanwhile, is awful at stopping the run. They do let mobile quarterbacks run on them, but in reality, they just can’t stop any backs. Through two games, they have allowed over 220 yards on the ground and given up an average of five yards a carry, which is atrocious.

Will they be able to flip the script this week? If the Vols can’t run all over Akron, there will be bigger concerns, but if Akron doesn’t improve its defense while the Vols are what we thought they could be on the ground, this game will be over by the end of the first quarter. Josh Heupel’s offense is all about the run first, so watch out.

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