Tennessee eyes its first Southeastern Conference win of the season Saturday on the road at Missouri. In doing so, the Vols will try and expand on some positives in the loss to Florida – positives that included a resurgent run game and three explosive plays in the passing attack.

Still, Tennessee looks to correct itself along the way as the Tigers boast a powerful offense with a solid quarterback in redshirt-sophomore Connor Bazelack. Josh Heupel’s club can’t afford to come up empty on lasting offensive drives, nor commit double-digit penalties while allowing 200+ yards on the ground.

UT can’t get away with those in SEC play and Saturday is certainly a game the Volunteers can grab on the road.

“We see on film, there’s a lot of things that are self-inflicted,” tight end Jacob Warren said Monday. “That’s just a lack of focus and a lack of attention to detail.

“We are all together – offense, defense and special teams. Everybody believes in each other and we all know that a lot of our issues are self-inflicting. We can fix that. It’s just about rallying around each other and getting better.”

The Tigers sport a 2-2 record on the season in what will be the second conference bout for both programs. Eli Drinkwitz and company handled business against Central Michigan and Southeast Missouri State, but fell by a touchdown in week two on the road in Lexington.

Missouri is currently recovering from a disappointing overtime loss at Boston College – a game that saw the Eagles rush for 275 yards in the victory.

Much like 2020, Missouri shines on offense and struggles on defense. Bazelack commands a unit that scores over 38 points an outing with an average just shy of 500 yards of total offense (483). It’s passing game accounts for 324 yards a game with another 158 yards coming on the ground – on average.

The Tigers shoot 54 percent on third downs, possess the football for just over 28 minutes an outing and accumulate 24 first downs a game.

It all starts with the second-year starter in Bazelack under center. The quarterback has already thrown for 1,200 yards in four games with 10 touchdowns to three interceptions. Bazelack, who took over the reins of Missouri’s offense in the second quarter last year at Neyland Stadium, is completing 68 percent of his passes.

In the Kentucky game, the signal-caller accounted for every touchdown with four strikes. He’s thrown for over 300 yards in each of the past two games, but turned it over twice in the Boston College loss on Saturday.

Arguably the most important piece for Drinkwitz’s offense is do-it-all tailback Tyler Badie. The senior has found the end zone a total of eight times on the year. He’s averaging over 100 yards on the ground a game and is the team’s leading receiver with 20 receptions.

“For them offensively, everything goes through the running back,” Josh Heupel said Monday in his weekly press conference. “Whether it’s the run-game or him being heavily involved in the pass-game. He’s been dynamic and near the top of the country in total yards and productivity. He’s a really good football player and does a great job with the ball in his hands and being electric to make guys miss.”

Worth noting, Knoxville native and former South Doyle standout Elijah Young gets some run behind Badie. The sophomore has scored twice on the season – once through the air – and has accumulated 76 yards on 20 carries in 2021.

With an offense that’s pass-happy, Bazelak has plenty of targets.

Missouri boasts six players with at least 10 receptions on the season and eight players who have already hauled in a touchdown. 6-foot-5, 215-pound Keke Chism is a big target out of the slot, as are tight ends Niko Hea (6-4, 245) and Daniel Parker (6-2, 235). Receivers Chance Luper, Barrett Banister, JJ Hester and D’Ionte Smith have all been involved, finding the end zone on one occasion.

Defensively, it’s a mess and former NFL head coach Steve Wilks hasn’t made it any better. The Tigers surrender 32 points and 452 yards of total offense a game. What’s even worse (shocking, really), teams are averaging a modest 270 yards on the ground against them.

Missouri does have 13 sacks on the year to go along with 27 tackles for loss, five interceptions and three forced fumbles in the 4-2-5 base scheme.

There’s opportunity there for the Vols, regardless of who is healthy enough to play quarterback this week.

“There’s been some explosives in the run and pass-game against them. I think they’ve gotten better as time has gone on,” Heupel said of Missouri’s defense. “The first four weeks, understanding their scheme and fitting things better – they are a group that’s continued to improve.”

Linebackers Blaze Alldredge and Devin Nicholson are tackle machines, combining for 59 stops with six sacks and 13.5 TFLs in four games. The former ranked second nationally in 2020 with 21.5 tackles behind the line of scrimmage.

2020 First-Team All-SEC defensive lineman Trajen Jeffcoat returns up front, but it’s been Isaiah McGuire who’s been the most productive. The defensive tackle has 15 tackles with a pair of sacks on the year. Kobie Whiteside and Akial Byers have also factored in heavily on the defensive line.

In the secondary, cornerback Jaylon Carlies leads the squad with two picks while former quarterback Shawn Robinson – yes, the guy who started against Tennessee last season – has an interception at safety. Opponents have only thrown for an average of 183 yards against the Tigers this season, but that’s in large part to the success in the run game.

Despite a tough loss on the road, the message remains the same in the Volunteer program, from top-to-bottom.

“We all still believe in each other and the coaches still believe in us,” Warren added. “Every week, no matter what, the game is going to be about us. The mistakes that we make or the execution we are able to have, it will always be about us.”

This isn’t a get-right game for the Volunteers by any stretch of the imagination. Tennessee actually opened as three-point road underdogs. But the Vols have a path to victory in this one if they don’t duplicate the second half struggles that factored into the Florida defeat.

Can Tennessee find the redzone and not stall out offensively? Can the passing game hit on a few more deep balls ad cut down on the drops? Can the run-game find rhythm for the second-straight outing? Can the defense make enough stops to hold off an impending slugfest? Oh, and who will be healthy enough to play?

We’ll find out.