South Carolina is a 'prove it' game for Tennessee's defense
The Tennessee Vols' defense hasn't been bad this season. Far from it, really. Tennessee currently has the No. 29 scoring defense in the nation. If not for a bad quarter against Florida, where things kind of snowballed on the Vols' entire team, that ranking would look even better. But while the Vols' defense hasn't be […]
The Tennessee Vols' defense hasn't been bad this season.
Far from it, really.
Tennessee currently has the No. 29 scoring defense in the nation. If not for a bad quarter against Florida, where things kind of snowballed on the Vols' entire team, that ranking would look even better.
But while the Vols' defense hasn't be "bad" this season — the defensive line has played extremely well — there's still plenty of room for improvement. Specifically when it comes to the secondary (which has still struggled at times this season).
Tennessee's defense under Josh Heupel is always going to have some tough moments from time to time. It's just reality for the Vols because of Tennessee's style of offense (if the offense stalls out and goes three-and-out on a couple of straight drives, it's hard to ask the defense to play at an elite level).
Still, the Vols have to find a way to defend the pass better. And they have to be better against mobile quarterbacks.
That has to start this week against South Carolina if Tennessee is going to get a win against the Gamecocks on Saturday night in Neyland Stadium.
The Vols are a third of the way into Tim Banks' third season as Tennessee's defensive coordinator. It's time for the Vols' defense to have a "statement game" against a high-powered offense. If not now, then when?
To be clear, I'm not suggesting that Tennessee needs to look for a new defensive coordinator if the Vols' defense has a rough game against South Carolina. I don't have nearly enough insight on what's happening inside of UT's building to know what is or isn't leading to some of the defensive issues we've seen. There could be injuries we don't know about or any number of other issues.
But if the Vols can't get it done against South Carolina, then it's probably time to to reconsider their defensive approach moving forward. Maybe that means playing more young guys now. Or maybe it means hitting the portal harder this offseason. It could also mean that Banks and his staff need to be more or less aggressive in their approach.
Whatever the case, Tennessee's defense needs to start consistently improving from week to week if this season is going anywhere for the Vols. It doesn't appear that Tennessee's offense is going to be as potent as it was last season. As a result, the defense has to play at a near-elite level if the Vols are going to have a shot to win the SEC East this fall.
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