KNOXVILLE — The last two times time the University of Tennessee has faced an up-tempo no-huddle spread offense similar to what it will see against Montana on Saturday, things ended poorly for the Volunteers.
Oregon slashed UT in a 35-point win last season with 447 yards of offense and 26 first downs, and Auburn did similar damage in 2009, racking up 459 yards and 24 first downs. The Grizzlies won’t have comparable ability Saturday evening, but the tempo could create problems for a UT defense with seven new starters and three or four true freshmen.
“They’ve got a number of guys that are very good athletically in space, and as last year showed that’s one of our areas of concern … how well we’ll tackle in space,” defensive line coach Lance Thompson said Wednesday. “On short balls or underneath throws, when we finish our rush, we’ve got to turn and run and get some hits from the blindside, maybe create some turnovers.
“The big thing for us is always going to be tackling, because when you look at big plays and what you give up, if you don’t tackle well that’s usually where your big plays come.”
Montana averaged 373.5 yards per game last season (UT averaged 363.8) and ranked 16th in the Football Championship Subdivision with almost 32 points per game. Second-year coach Robin Pflugrad coached for three seasons at Oregon before joining the Grizzlies’ staff in 2009.