College Football Playoff: A To Z On The Vols

Ohio State and Tennessee will meet in the first round of the College Football Playoff in 12 days, and when they do, it will be just the second-ever meeting between the two programs.

With this being such an unfamiliar opponent for Buckeye fans, now seems like a pretty good time to give some sort of an idea of what this Tennessee football team is all about.

Rather than just drone on and on about this or that, let’s break this into 26 items of interest that fit into an alphabetical formula that will make this easier to consume — and possibly also enable you to use as a mnemonic device when talking about the Vols to your friends and family.

A – Arion Carter | Sophomore linebacker Arion Carter (7) leads the Vols with 65 tackles and is fourth on the team with 6.5 tackles for loss. He had just four tackles in their 31-17 loss at Georgia. Carter (6-1 234) was a four-star prospect in the 2023 recruiting class. He took an official visit to Ohio State in November of 2022, so he at least has a basic familiarity with Ohio Stadium.

B – Bru McCoy | Senior wide receiver Bru McCoy (5) leads Tennessee with 35 receptions. He averages 12.3 yards per catch, but didn’t score his first touchdown this year until the season-finale against Vanderbilt. He scored twice in that game. McCoy is a brute at 6-foot-3 and 230 pounds, but only three of his catches have gone for 30 or more yards. None have gone for 50 or more yards.

C – Cooper Mays | Super senior center Cooper Mays (63) was a Preseason All-American this year and is one of three finalists for the Rimington Trophy, which goes annually to the nation’s top center. Mays has been a four-year starter for the Vols, and even started twice as a true freshman in 2020.

D – Dylan Sampson | Junior running back Dylan Sampson (6) is eighth in the nation in rushing, averaging 123.8 yards rushing per game. His 22 touchdowns are tied for fourth nationally. He has rushed for over 100 yards in 10 games this year, including a season-high 178 yards on 25 carries at Vanderbilt. Sampson has carried the ball 256 times this season, which is one more carry than Ohio State running backs Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson have combined for in 2024.

E – Efficiency | Tennessee has had their issues in the red zone this season. They are 89th nationally in scoring percentage in the red zone (81.67%) and 65th in touchdown percentage (61.67). In conference play, the Vols convert touchdowns just 48.39% of the time in the red zone. That’s good for 115th in the nation. Their scoring rate of 70.97% is good for 121st nationally.

F – Familiar Face | Tennessee starting free safety Andre Turrentine (2) signed with Ohio State in the Buckeyes’ 2021 recruiting class. He never found a role and transferred to Tennessee after his freshman year at OSU. Turrentine has started all 12 games for the Vols this season. He has posted 35 tackles and an interception.

G – Georgia | Georgia has given Tennessee one of their two losses this season. In that 31-17 loss, the Vols started out with a 10-0 lead in the first quarter, but the Bulldogs outscored UT 31-7 the rest of the way. Bulldogs quarterback Carson Beck completed 25-of-40 passes for 347 yards and two touchdowns. Georgia had three scoring drives of 84 yards or more. The Vols were 10-of-18 on third downs, but could only manage 17 points for the entire game.

H – Hurry Up | Tennessee’s offense is sixth in the nation in number of plays per game (74), which is the product of their use of tempo and the hurry-up offense. Compare that to Ohio State, who averages just 62 snaps per game, which is among the bottom 30 teams nationally. If the Buckeyes want more snaps this game, they should be able to get them.

I – Interceptor | Cornerback Jermod McCoy (3) transferred to Tennessee from Oregon State, where he started a handful of games as a freshman last year. McCoy has started every game this season for the Vols and leads the team with four interceptions. He was a Thorpe Award semifinalist this year. McCoy (6-0 193) currently has 39 tackles and nine pass breakups to go with his four INTs.

J – James Pearce, Jr. | Edge rusher James Pearce (27) leads the Vols with 7.5 sacks and 11.0 tackles for loss this season. He had 1.5 sack and 2.0 tackles for loss in Tennessee’s 24-17 win over Alabama. Pearce (6-5 243) has had a tackle for loss against every Power 4 opponent this season except for finale against Vanderbilt. He will be a handful for the Ohio State offensive tackles as a stand up edge rusher.

K – Kicker | Redshirt freshman kicker Max Gilbert (90) is 17-of-23 on field goal attempts this season, but just 6-of-11 on kicks of 40 yards or more. He has made just two of his five attempts from 50 yards this season. Gilbert missed all three field goal attempts in a 28-18 win over Kentucky.

L – Leo | The Tennessee base defense features a three down linemen and a “Leo,” which is a stand-up edge rusher. James Pearce, Jr. is the starter there, but backup Joshua Josephs (19) is second on the team with 9.0 tackles for loss. Though to call Josephs a “backup” isn’t entirely accurate since he has also started five games. The Vols will run multiple alignments, including some 3-4 looks that feature both Josephs and Pearce as outside linebackers.

M – Margins | Tennessee is 5-0 this season when they win the turnover battle. They are 3-1 when the turnover margin is even and 2-1 when they have a negative margin. The Vols have lost 15 total turnovers in 12 games, but 14 of those turnovers occurred in their nine games against Power 4 opponents. They have turned the ball over at least twice in five of those games.

N – Nico Iamaleava | Redshirt freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava (8) is completing 65.7% of his passes this season in throwing for 2,512 yards with 19 touchdowns and five interceptions. He is averaging 8.3 yards per pass attempt. He has thrown just nine touchdowns in the Vols’ eight conference games this season. Iamaleava (6-6 215) is fourth in the SEC in pass efficiency (152.71).

O – Offensive Line | Tennessee’s starting five on the offensive line has missed just two games this season. Sophomore left tackle Lance Heard (53) missed two games early in the season with an injury. Other than that, the Vols have been consistent up front, helping pave the way for an SEC-high 232 yards rushing per game. In conference games, that number drops down to 191.8 yards per game but still leads the SEC. They have, however, allowed 20 sacks in eight conference games this season.

P – Pass Rushing | The Vols are a middle-of-the-pack team when it comes to sacking the quarterback. They have 29 sacks, which is eighth in the SEC. They only tallied two sacks in their losses, with both coming at Arkansas. They did not sack Georgia quarterback Carson Beck.

Q – Quarter | Every time senior receiver Dont’e Thornton catches a pass, he averages 25.9 yards per catch. That’s one entire quarter of the length of the football field with every reception. Makes you wonder why they don’t throw to him more. He has just 25 catches on the season, but has posted 647 yards receiving with six touchdowns.

R – Run Defense | Tennessee is eighth nationally in rush defense, allowing just 99.6 yards per game on the ground. They are fourth in yards per carry (2.8). In conference games, those numbers go up to 118.4 yards rushing per game and 3.3 yards per carry. The Vols held Alabama to 75 yards rushing on 34 attempts, but did give up 168 and 179 yards rushing in back-to-back games against Kentucky and Mississippi State respectively. Even in losses, the run defense was stout, allowing just 3.1 yards per carry in a 19-14 loss at Arkansas and 3.4 yards per carry in a 31-17 loss at Georgia.

S – Scoring | Tennessee has scored 55 touchdowns this season through 12 games. Thirty-two of those touchdowns have come in their four non-conference games. In their eight conference games, they have managed just 23 touchdowns.

T – Tight Ends | Tennessee’s three tight ends have combined for 49 catches, 527 yards, and seven touchdowns. Starter Miles Kitzelman (87) is fifth on the team with 21 receptions for 296 yards and four touchdowns. He has 15 catches over the past five games, scoring twice. Backup Holden Staes transferred in from Notre Dame. He never caught a pass against Ohio State in the two years he was with the Irish.

U – Upstart | The Vols are outscoring opponents 95-16 in the first quarter this season, and 221-53 in the first half. The Buckeyes, meanwhile, are outscoring opponents 200-42 in the second half. Ohio State is outscoring opponents 226-86 in the first half. The Vols are outscoring opponents 196-97 in the second half of games this season.

V – Volunteers | The name “Volunteers” derives from the way Tennesseans volunteered in numbers for military battle back in the early 1800s.

W – Winning Records | Tennessee is second in the SEC in scoring, averaging 37.3 points per game. However, when it comes to the Vols’ three games against teams that have winning records, they are averaging just 21.3 points per game. The Buckeyes, it should be noted, have a winning record.

X – Xs and Os | Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel is seen as an Xs and Os guru on offense, but his Volunteers have had some issues reaching the end zone at times this season. They have scored just two touchdowns in three different SEC games this year and scored more than three touchdowns just twice (four each vs. Kentucky and Vanderbilt). That being said, the Vols are going to have plenty of time to scheme up something special for the Buckeyes.

Y – Yardage | Only Texas (6) has allowed fewer 30-yard pass plays in the SEC than Tennessee’s seven. The Vols have only allowed one pass of 40 yards or more this season, and none that have reached 50 yards. The Buckeyes have allowed just six pass plays of 30 yards or more. They have only allowed three rushes of 30 yards or more and none of 40 yards. Tennessee has also allowed three rushes of 30+ yards this season. There are some big-play weapons on both offenses, but they are going to be greatly tested by each of these defenses.

Z – Zebras | The Vols are 130th nationally in penalties, getting flagged 8.3 times per game. That number goes up to 9.3 flags per game in conference games. Of course, this bit of information is meaningless when you consider that Ohio State is dead-last (134th) nationally in having flags called against their opponents. Buckeye opponents are averaging just 3.5 penalties per game.

Go to discussion...