KNOXVILLE – In last week’s 17-13 win over Massachusetts, the Tennessee offense struggled on first downs.
The Minutemen had 12 tackles for a loss against the Volunteers, and six of them came on first downs.
Tennessee faces a much stiffer defense Saturday when No. 7 Georgia (4-0, 1-0 Southeastern Conference) visits, and coach Butch Jones emphasized the Vols cannot afford negative plays on first down.
“Everything is about first-down efficiency,” Jones said. “What we have to do is work to stay ahead of the chains and eliminate negative-yardage football plays, and to me that’s one of the critical elements and keys to this football game, is staying on schedule on first and second down.”
The Vols (3-1, 0-1) will need to rely on a veteran offensive line to provide holes for running back John Kelly to run through and time for quarterback Quinten Dormady to throw on first downs if they want to have success against the Bulldogs’ physical defense.