Tennessee has yet to allow 20 points in any contest through the first eight games of this football season, an impressive feat the Volunteers last accomplished in 1966.
Whether that can continue will be determined when the No. 7 Vols host Mississippi State on Saturday night (7 on ESPN) at Neyland Stadium. Tennessee is the only Football Bowl Subdivision program yet to allow 20 points in a game, and the success of its deep and veteran defensive front has been wowing opposing coaches on a weekly basis.
“They’ve got the size, and that’s certainly where it starts,” Alabama’s Kalen DeBoer said this week. “They’ve got guys who can run to the ball, and then they’ve got some length in the secondary. They just make it hard in all areas. They have guys who can play on the outside, and they control the box. They’re a team that likes to run the football, and each and every day in practice that defensive line is going against that offensive line.
“They’re just extremely competitive, and I think there is a trust that they have built not just this year but with that system being in place to where they’re playing together and playing free.”
In Alabama’s 24-17 loss in Knoxville on Oct. 19, the Crimson Tide managed just 75 rushing yards.