Tennessee football must shut down Indiana passing game to win

Tennessee football is celebrating the new year in Jacksonville, Florida, and will start the decade perfectly with a win against Indiana on Thursday.

When I say that Jeremy Pruitt and Tennessee football could really use a win to start 2020, I mean it because it can lead to success in recruiting and on the field.

Tennessee can do that with a win on Thursday against Indiana in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl. I think that Tennessee is far and away the better team in this game and should easily win the bowl game, at least from what I saw throughout most of November.

The Vols have gotten over a month off from playing meaningful football, so that could all go down the drain, but assuming Pruitt keeps the momentum going, I don’t think Tennessee should lose this game on Thursday.

Tennessee is a 1.5 point favorite going into this game, which is a fair betting line for Tennessee. Indiana has a really good offensive game, so for Tennessee to win the game on Thursday.

If the Vols try to get into a shootout with Indiana, I don’t think the Vols will have much of a chance to win through four quarters.

Tennessee’s offense can not keep up with Indiana’s, at least when it comes to throwing the ball, and I think the Vols’ defense will have to step up in the secondary and force Indiana to rely on the run game.

For Tennessee’s offense, if the run game shows up again, then the passing game will come too. Throwing the ball has been what has held the Vols back from getting over the hump this year and could still cause issues on Thursday.

Regardless of who it is, Tennessee could benefit from someone running for triple-digits on the ground. That will allow Jarrett Guarantano the opportunity to run some different play-action passes and throw the ball a bit more comfortably in the pocket.

Tennessee football’s first game of the next decade is less than 48 hours away and could be a huge lift into finding success where the Vols haven’t found since the previous century.