The Iowa Hawkeyes haven’t seen the Tennessee Volunteers in nine seasons and most Hawkeye fans have done what they can to forget that meeting.
A lot has changed in Knoxville in that time so this group of Vols is not the same one that took that version of Iowa to the woodshed (and notably set the table for the undefeated 2015 season).
So it’s time to get to know a bit about the 2023 Tennessee Volunteers.
In the words of the wise and sage-like Big Tom Callahan, you can get a good look at a t-bone by sticking your head up a bull’s rear end, but wouldn’t you rather take the butcher’s word for it?
So rather than sticking our head up anyone’s rear end, we’re asking our friends over at Rocky Top Talk for their words on the Tennessee Volunteers.
We were joined by Nick Carner over at RTT to talk all things Tennessee this week. Here’s a look at our conversation.
There’s some misconceptions about Heupel and his offense. Simply, the idea is to snap the ball quick, don’t substitute often and try to catch your opponent slipping.
Heupel uses wide splits with the WRs to try and create as much space as possible — vertically and horizontally — on the field for the defense to defend.
Something that’s also missed when folks talk about the Vols’ offense is how much it runs the ball.
UT’s run the ball on 52, 54 and 52 percent of its plays since Heupel took over as coach and finished 12th (219 yards per-game), 20th (199 yards per-game) and 12th again this season nationally with an average of 200 yards on the ground per-contest.
As far as this season, it’s definitely not gone exactly the way Tennessee fans hoped, but challenges get thrown a team’s way and the staff is responsible for making due the best it can.
The offensive line was a game of musical chairs all season, Joe Milton was, well, erratic with his downfield accuracy and the secondary struggled making tackles and covering opposing players in space. Let’s be clear:
I’m not making excuses. The DBs have been an issue since Heupel took over, and nothing’s been done about it.
But, anybody who’s complained will get to see what things look like in the bowl game as the Vols will be fielding a nearly entirely new group on the backend thanks to the mass exodus of Tennessee’s defensive backs.
