JACKSONVILLE _ Tennessee looks to run its winning streak to six games — and its fourth consecutive bowl win. What’s key for the Vols to beat Indiana? Here are four with our weekly Cheat Sheet.
Play clean — Anytime you have a month off, there’s good and bad. The good is that the Vols are healthier and fresher. Austin Pope is healthy, which is key for the run game. Jarrett Guarantano doesn’t have a heavy brace on his hand. Henry To’oTo’o is better, as is Bryce Thompson. That’s the good. The downside to not playing for a month is that there’s often a rust factor. Missed tackles, throws, drops, turnovers, and penalties are often a lowlight of the bowl season. Indiana is in the same situation. The team that plays the cleanest football almost always wins. That’s especially true in bowl games.
Limit big plays —That might sound a bit crazy when you are talking about a Big Ten team, but this Hoosiers team will chunk it down the field and can make plays. They have more yards and touchdowns than Tennessee has this year and they average more yards a play. The Hoosiers have 66 offensive plays of 20+ yards. Tennessee has only given up 34 defensive snaps of 20+ yards. Tennessee’s defense must keep the ball in front of them.
3. U be U — Senior Jauan Jennings isn’t playing in the first half due to the SEC mandated suspension from the Vanderbilt game. And yes, Tennessee needs to establish the run. No one is expecting Eric Gray to have another Vanderbilt performance but this offense needs to run the ball some to keep the Hoosiers honest. Indiana is giving up nearly four yards a carry. But let’s face it, the best weapons in the Vol offense are on the perimeter in the passing game and Tennessee needs to be themselves and throw it. The Hoosiers have given up 20 touchdown passes and have only recorded five interceptions this season. Even without Jennings for a half, the Vols must keeping doing what they do and that’s throw the football.
4. Get off the field — Maybe the best stat for the Hoosiers is their 3rd down conversion rate. Indiana is converting 48% of its third down attempts. Tennessee’s defense is getting stops on third down 40% of the time. Winning on third down is always big, but it’s a big stat to watch Thursday night.
BONUS: Watch the middle eight minutes of the game. We have talked about many times over the course of the season, but the last four minutes of the first half and the first four minutes of the second half is a key stat for Pruitt and his staff. Tennessee’s defense has been great to start the second half forced punts on their first possession of the last eight games. The Vols have outscored their opponents in the middle 8 minutes of the game 38-7 in this five game winning streak.