JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - It's been a while since the Tennessee football team has faced a prolific passing offense.
With the Volunteers set to face one Thursday in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl, their defense is eager for the opportunity.
Indiana sports one of the top air attacks in the country, with a passing offense ranked second in the Big Ten and 14th in the Football Bowl Subdivision at 308.7 yards per game. That's with two quarterbacks: freshman Michael Penix Jr. and junior Peyton Ramsey.
Ramsey has been the starter since Penix suffered an injury after a 34-3 win against Northwestern on Nov. 2.
Indiana quarterback Peyton Ramsey (12) throws against Purdue during the first half of an NCAA college football game in West Lafayette, Ind., Saturday, Nov. 30, 2019. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)"They're very well coached," Tennessee coach Jeremy Pruitt said Sunday. "They give you a lot of different looks. I think they're physical up front; they're big. Their quarterback makes good decisions. They've got three good runners. Their tight ends are physical in the C-area; one of them is their second leading receiver. They have some play-makers on the outside. They do a really nice job."
Indiana's best receiver, junior Whop Philyor, has 1,001 yards on 69 catches this year. The tight end Pruitt referred to, sophomore Peyton Hendershot, has 46 catches and four touchdowns. Five players have caught multiple touchdown passes, and four others have one each.
Running back Stevie Scott III has 862 yards rushing and 10 scores for good measure.
The Vols haven't faced a lot of great passing offenses, but they were pretty solid against everybody this year and improved all season. Only Florida and South Carolina threw for more than 300 yards against the Vols, and most of the Gamecocks' passing yards came in the second half after Tennessee had built a commanding advantage.
In fact, Indiana's strength may play right into Tennessee's defensive strength. The Vols had one of the top pass rushes in the Southeastern Conference in the regular season, finishing with 30 sacks. Tennessee had eight sacks in the first five games when it was 1-4; it had 22 in the final seven when it was 6-1.
The Vols' pass rush has helped in the back end, where the team ranks fourth in the SEC in interceptions with 14 and allowed just 14 touchdowns passing, tied with Alabama for third fewest in the league.
Tennessee linebacker Darrell Taylor (19) plays in the first half of an NCAA college football game against South Carolina, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2019, in Knoxville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Wade Payne)Indiana has 23 passing touchdowns.
"We've gotten to look at them," said outside linebacker Darrell Taylor, who leads the Vols with seven sacks. "I think they throw the ball a lot, and they can run the ball, too, if they need to, but I think as long as we stop the run, they'll pass the ball a lot, and we're going to come to shut their pass down, too."
And that could be a part of the Vols' game plan: to take away Indiana's rushing attack. Considering the Hoosiers didn't lose a game in which they rushed for 100 yards or more and didn't win a game when they failed to reach that number, it would be a solid plan.
Plus taking away that rushing attack will give the Tennessee defense opportunities to get sacks - something the Vols are eagerly hoping for.
"Oh, man, listen, my eyes get real big," Taylor said. "We get to rush a lot, and I think that's going to be a good opportunity for us to show what we can do."
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3 or at Facebook.com/VolsUpdate.