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Why miscues could cost Tennessee football vs disciplined Kentucky, Will Stein
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- Why miscues could cost Tennessee football vs disciplined Kentucky, Will Stein
Tennessee football 's practices last week included plenty of work to eliminate pre-snap penalties. Wide receivers coach Kelsey Pope harped on his unit's alignment at the line of scrimmage. Everyone worked on not jumping offsides and avoiding false starts — the kinds of avoidable fouls that can quickly derail a drive.
The Vols entered their open week after a 27-24 loss at South Carolina on Oct. 24, which was in large part the result of self-inflicted wounds. Quarterback George MacIntyre had three touchdown passes negated by penalties , including one by an illegal shift by sophomore Braylon Staley. Another was wiped away when freshman Tyreek King was flagged as an ineligible man downfield.
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"Just getting in our alignments, being able to get our cleats set fast," Staley said on Nov. 2, describing the practices. "Once the O-line goes down, the quarterback's ready to snap the ball. If we're not ready, it's dead."
No. 16 Tennessee (6-2, 3-2 SEC) knows it needs to be more disciplined against No. 7 Kentucky (7-1, 5-1) on Nov. 7 (6:15 p.m. ET, ESPN) at Neyland Stadium.
That's because the Wildcats are playing as clean as any team in the nation under their first-year coach Will Stein . They are easily the least penalized team in the SEC this season with just 36 flags this season, nine less than second-place Texas A&M. Their 41.88 penalty yards per game are also best in the conference.
"It's really important to clean up penalties. Obviously we had some big ones last week," Staley said. "This team's very sound. Just being able to come into practice, hone in on those details in practice and then take that into the game."
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Kentucky is playing mistake-free football under Will Stein
The Wildcats are tied with UCLA for the national lead in average turnover margin at +1.9 per game. They've delivered in crucial moments, including two walk-off two-point conversions. This is not a team that bails its opponents out with mistakes.
"You look at their ability to win multiple ways," Tennessee coach Josh Heupel said. "Finish games, turnover margin, they've been elite. One of the least penalized teams in the league. Playing really smart in all three phases, so it'll be a great test. And we are looking forward to it."
Maybe Neyland Stadium can induce a few uncharacteristic miscues from Kentucky. Tennessee has the second-most opponent penalties in the SEC this season, some of which can be attributed to the Vols' homefield advantage. In their last home game against Alabama on Oct. 17, Neyland Stadium broke the college football decibel record and the Crimson Tide committed six pre-snap penalties.
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But even if it receives a boost from the home crowd, Tennessee will still have to be tuned up.
In addition to the penalties against South Carolina, the Vols failed to execute on their final two drives. An apparent miscommunication on a fourth-and-1 that could've potentially sealed the game with 3:35 left gave the Gamecocks the ball back to tie. Then MacIntyre fumbled to set up the winning field goal.
"Comes down to doing the ordinary things at a really high level," Heupel said. "Communication, not hurting yourself with penalties, doing your job. And 11 guys operating as one."
Emmett Siegel covers Tennessee baseball for Knox News. Email: emmett.siegel@knoxnews.com ; X: @EmmettSiegel_
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Why miscues could cost Tennessee football vs disciplined Kentucky, Will Stein
