Tennessee earned its first invitation to the College Football Playoff despite never scoring a first-half point in October.
The Volunteers are not planning on a scoreless first 30 minutes at Ohio State, but they would not count themselves out should that be the case.
“There was a stretch in the early part of the conference schedule where we didn’t perform our best offensively in the first half — as coaches and players together,” Vols fourth-year coach Josh Heupel said this week on a Zoom call. “At the end of the day, it’s always about how you finish and being on the right side of the scoreboard. One of the things I really appreciate about this group as a whole is how mature they are as competitors and their ability to play the next play independently and play for each other.
“They have a great mindset. As you get into games like this against great opponents, you understand that there are going to be ebbs and flows. We have to continue to play and compete.”
Tennessee continued its preparation Thursday for Saturday’s CFP first-round showdown (8 p.m. on ABC/ESPN) between the ninth-seeded Vols (10-2) and the eighth-seeded Buckeyes (10-2).