UT quarterback Justin Worley jumps over UTC’s Dee Virgin and Zack Rayl at Neyland Stadium.TENNESSEE (3-3, 0-2 SEC) AT NO. 3 OLE MISS (6-0, 3-0)7 p.m. * Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in Oxford, Miss. * ESPN, 106.5 FMTHE MATCHUPTennessee’s struggling offensive line figures to have its hands full again, and the Ole Miss defense, which allows an SEC-low 11.8 points and ranks third in the league in yards allowed, is strong at every level – particularly in the secondary.Ole Miss probably has the best defensive line among Tennessee’s remaining opponents, but the Rebels have just 11 sacks this season. Safeties Cody Prewitt and Trae Elston, cornerbacks Senquez Golson and Mike Hilton and nickelback Tony Conner account for 10 of the Rebels’ SEC-leading 12 interceptions this season.Tennessee quarterback Justin Worley has thrown five interceptions, but two were at Oklahoma and two others came against Florida, which played mostly man-to-man coverage, as Ole Miss will. The Vols will have to be creative in finding ways to protect Worley, and it’ll be up to him to protect the ball from the Rebels’ ball-hawkers.ONE TO WATCHIn his first two seasons as the starting quarterback for Ole Miss, Tennessee native Bo Wallace threw 40 touchdown passes and 30 interceptions and developed a sort of Jekyll and Hyde reputation. Thus the monikers “Good Bo” and “Bad Bo” came to be part of the SEC lexicon.In the first half of this year’s season opener, the senior threw a trio of interceptions, but he was masterful against Alabama: 18-of-31 passing for 251 yards and three touchdowns, including two in the game’s final six minutes. Tennessee’s defense is 16th nationally in yards allowed and held its last two opponents below 100 yards passing, but the Vols have shown they can turn teams over, too, as their 14 takeaways rank sixth in the SEC.To pull the upset, Tennessee will need to add to that tally and hope Wallace, who is turnover-free in three SEC games, has the kind of erratic game he occasionally has.IN THE ENDOle Miss has not been 6-0 since 1962, when it started 10-0, and the No. 3 ranking is the program’s highest since the Rebels were the preseason No. 1 in 1964, but this appears to be a bad matchup for Tennessee, particularly the Vols’ sputtering offense, which ranks just 118th out of 128 FBS teams in yards per play.In their six road games against ranked teams under second-year coach Butch Jones, the Vols have committed 18 turnovers. Three turnovers at home cost the Vols a win against Florida two weeks ago. Such mistakes against a very good Ole Miss defense could make for a very long night for Tennessee.The Vols must avoid beating themselves offensively and lean on their improved defense to keep them in the game.PREDICTION: OLE MISS 24, TENNESSEE 7
KNOXVILLE – For the rest of the 2014 football season, Tennessee tight end Ethan Wolf and more than 15 of his teammates will have the label linked to their names.
With each passing week and game, though, it fits less and less.
A promising freshman class will play its seventh game for the Volunteers tonight, but some of those first-year players, along with their coaches and teammates, probably don’t consider themselves freshmen anymore.
Wolf said this week he feels that way.