FINAL from COMO: Tennessee 19, Mizzou 8

[jbcarol]

David Morrison ‏@DavidCMorrison 8h8 hours ago

On the blog: @TennesseeBeat takes us On the Beat to learn about those Volunteers- http://bit.ly/1MGoR1N .

So Joshua Dobbs carried only four times against North Texas. Is that a one-game blip, or is Tennessee trying to limit the hits he takes? How much does that take away from the offense?

It's a little more than a one-game blip. Tennessee offensive coordinator Mike DeBord said he made a point to run Dobbs a little less in the second half of the South Carolina game and Butch Jones said that was because Dobbs is a little "banged up" though Dobbs insists he's fine. It apparently was done for the purpose of sparing him some hits, but I think they were doing that for the purpose of resting him up for these last two games against top-20 defenses when they know they're going to need to pull out every stop just to find some points. Point being, I think you will see him run the standard amount in this game.

Tennessee found some fairly spectacular ways to lose games early in the year. Have the Vols grown from that? Did it make them any better at closing out games?

I think so, but it obviously helps that the level of competition has come down. The teams that beat them in spectacular fashion were Oklahoma and Florida, and they're No. 7 and No. 8 in the College Football Playoff poll. Alabama and Arkansas just beat them because they played better than them...

[jbcarol]

Patrick Brown ‏@patrickbrownTFP  10h10 hours ago
Tennessee's defense in a 'good rhythm' and with a point to prove aginst Mizzou. http://bit.ly/1Ni4L3m 

KNOXVILLE — Tennessee sits 46 places below Missouri in the Football Bowl Subdivision's total defense rankings.

The Volunteers are eager to show that the gap isn't as big as the statistics say it is.

Tennessee heads into tonight's game at Missouri, which is fifth nationally in points allowed and eighth nationally in total defense, allowing an average of 324 yards in its last four games and coming off its first shutout of an FBS foe since 2011.

"We definitely want to step up to the challenge, present our best foot and show the 'Orange Swarm' is here to play, too," freshman linebacker Darrin Kirkland Jr. said.

Dustin Dopirak ‏@TennesseeBeat  Nov 18
Kirkland says he used to never miss a question on spelling tests when he was a kid, so his mom knew he had a photographic memory.

[jbcarol]

FINAL: Tennessee 19, Missouri 8. #Vols spoil Gary Pinkel's home finale and win their seventh game of the season. Close with Vandy next week.

Vols win for the first time under Butch Jones when scoring less than 21 points.

[DeltaBoy]

Good win for the Vols.