The Volunteers happen to be pretty good at football, if you weren’t aware
If you’ve been around BTP, you know I typically come up with some opponent preview gimmick each season that ultimately gets ridiculed. Two years ago it was the “Three shots at victory” bit. Last year I did the “in 1-2-3” segment. And to be honest, I hadn’t really given much thought to what to do this year – so much so that I didn’t even do anything for the Western Carolina game. Clownbloggery at its finest, for sure.
So this year, I’m going to take us all to school. Well, at least a thing we all had to do that you’ve probably forgotten about since: SWOT analyses.
I already know I’m going to regret this format, so let’s get to it and get to know this week’s opponent:
Tennessee
Strengths
I feel like this one’s cheating a bit. What isn’t a strength for this Tennessee team?
The Volunteers had 13 possessions in their 69-3 win over Chattanooga last week. Of those 13 possessions, one resulted in the Vols running out the clock to close the first half, one resulted in a punt, and one resulted in an interception from back-up QB Gaston Moore. The other ten resulted in points on the board, including the first seven possessions of the game (six TDs, one field goal). So, yes, offense is a strength.
While the offense is loaded with weapons, the defense is no slouch either. The Vols D ranked in the top 10 nationally in both TFL and sacks last year and returns a lot from that group. Defensive end James Pearce could be the first overall pick in this year’s NFL Draft and the interior of the D-Line is comprised of many large, talented, and experienced human beings. Not ideal for an NC State offensive line that struggled at times getting a push on Western Carolina’s D-line.
Weaknesses
Uhhh…
Really grasping at straws here, but the offensive line allowed two sacks against Chattanooga. Granted, the starters only allowed one.
Punter Jackson Ross is only averaging 23 yards per punt… on his one punt. But that’s a fluke because he averaged 42.8 yards per punt (41.3 net yards per punt) last year.
Tennessee was flagged for six penalties for 52 yards last week. Penalties have been a huge issue the last two years for the Vols, being flagged for the 8th most penalties per game in FBS each season.
Opportunities
While NC State labored through an unnecessarily tight affair with Western Carolina, Tennessee was beating the pants off Chattanooga in a laugher. On the surface, that doesn’t bode well for the Pack against the Vols, but there may be more to it. State had some serious flaws exposed by the Catamounts which provides an opportunity for the coaching staff to address those before the game this Saturday – and with two extra days with which to do it. Tennessee’s flaws, by contrast (and assuming they exist), have yet to be exposed. Whatever was there heading into the season is still there and can be theoretically taken advantage of by the Pack.
Nico Iamaleava is insanely talented, but this will be just his 7th collegiate game and 3rd career start. Expecting a 1998 Chris Weinke level meltdown against the Pack is foolish, although Tony Gibson’s defense will be able to throw some things at Iamaleava that he hasn’t seen before, potentially forcing him into some bad decisions.
Similarly, starting left tackle Lance Heard – a transfer from LSU – will also be making just his 3rd career start. The rest of the offensive line is comprised of rock solid seniors. Heard may end up being the best of them all when his college career is done, but there’s an opportunity to mix things up around him and put both he and Iamaleava in situations they have yet to encounter.
Trivia
Forget threats, let’s go with some trivia (trivial?) facts.
NC State QB Coach and Passing Game Coordinator Kurt Roper earned his master’s degree from Tennessee in 1998 while a grad assistant on the Vol’s national championship team. He returned to Knoxville as the RB Coach from 2006-2007.
The first meeting between these two schools was in 1893, a 12-6 victory for the Wolfpack. Subsequent games in the series occurred in 1911 (16-0 W), 1939 (0-13 L), and 2012 (21-35 L). It’s surprising that these two schools have met so infrequently.
Two Wolfpack players are from the state of Tennessee: FR LB Elijah Groves (Cross Plains, TN) and rFR RB Darius Johnson (Hendersonville, TN). The Volunteers, meanwhile, have five players from the state of North Carolina: rSR QB Navy Shuler (Waynesville), JR DE James Pearce (Charlotte), SO DL Daevin Hobbs (Concord), rFR WR Nathan Leacock (Rolesville), and rJR TE Charlie Browder (Waynesville).