Tennessee's unexpected problem: Offense

Hello. This is the Josh and Swain Newsletter, a quick roundup of the week’s top stories and topics involving Tennessee and the sports world.

Here’s what we have for you today:

• How Nico Iamaleava and Tennessee’s offense can get it going

• Questions ahead of Tennessee’s must-win game vs Florida

• The history of UT-Florida… and why the Vols really need this one

• The biggest games in a massive weekend for college football

NICO’S GET-RIGHT GAME?

Last week could’ve gone better for Tennessee. 

The Vols went to Arkansas favored by two touchdowns and left with their first loss of the season. 

Tennessee’s loss created a bunch of concerns and questions. 

What’s wrong with the offense?

Have teams figured out Josh Heupel’s system?

Was Nico overrated?

One loss can alter the mood of a fanbase in a dramatic way.

That’s especially the case when the team has big goals: in Tennessee’s case, competing for an SEC championship and playoff spot. 

Both of those goals are still on the table, but the margin for error is thin following last week’s loss.

Here’s something everyone agrees on ➜ Tennessee’s offense must improve for the Vols to hit their biggest goals. 

Every offensive position group has to be better. 

That includes the running backs, who could’ve been better in pass protection last week.

(Dylan Sampson has been great overall, however. UT wasted his big night in Fayetteville.) 

But what about the quarterback?

As we all know, the QB gets the glory when things go well and the blame when things go poorly.

Nico Iamaleava needs to play better. 

He also needs more help from his teammates. 

Tennessee’s protection hasn’t been good enough — and receivers haven’t gotten open often enough to make plays. 

But you can bet Nico watched film from Arkansas and saw ways that he could’ve played better.

That’s what Chris Doering of ESPN saw when he looked at the Tennessee-Arkansas game. 

Here’s what Doering said on Josh and Swain: 

That seems like reasonable criticism of Iamaleava’s performance. 

Nico would probably agree with it. 

It’s also important not to go overboard with the reaction to the Vols’ loss at Arkansas. 

It’s one loss — and while it was disappointing, it wasn’t shocking.

Road losses happen all the time in college football.

Let’s see how Iamaleava responds in a more friendly environment at home against a vulnerable Florida defense. 

Cole Cubelic said this about Nico on The Cube Show on Monday:

How Nico responds this week is important.

Same for his teammates, who have to be better. And Tennessee’s staff has to help Iamaleava.

Will Heupel find more running opportunities for his quarterback?

They want to protect Iamaleava, but they need to give him a shot to make plays.

If Tennessee’s offense looks improved on Saturday, the fans’ mood will swing back in a positive direction.

And if they don’t look improved, well…

Check out our fill conversation with Chris Doering below or anywhere you get your podcasts. ⬇️

FLORIDA GAME QUESTIONS

So we’ve covered Nico, but what else about this week’s game?

📍 Neyland Stadium
⏰ 7:00 p.m. ET
📺 ESPN
📻 99.1 The Sports Animal/WIVK

Here are a few questions/topics to ponder before Saturday game between Tennessee and Florida. 

🟠 How will the offensive line look?

Florida is 15th in the SEC in rushing defense this season. 

The Gators have a big man in the middle, Cam Jackson, who caused problems for Tennessee a year ago. 

Will Tennessee’s O-line control the line of scrimmage this week?

There’s no sugarcoating the play of Tennessee’s starting offensive tackles: it’s been a big disappointment. 

The interior play could be better, too.

Let’s see if it improves this weekend. 

⚫ Can Tennessee’s defense take the ball away?

Tennessee’s defense played well enough to win last week — but the Vols’ D had its worst game of the season.

Arkansas had struggled to take care of the ball leading up to the Tennessee game. 

Yet the Vols didn’t force one turnover against the Razorbacks. 

Let’s see if Tennessee’s can make a big play to help out the Vols’ offense in front of the home crowd. 

🟠 What is Tennessee’s receiver rotation?

Bru McCoy and Squirrel White are probable to play while Dont’e Thornton is listed as questionable. 

Keep an eye on their status and snap count as the game goes along. 

Chas Nimrod could see more work in the slot. 

And highly-touted freshman Mike Matthews might get more opportunities this week. 

At least Tennessee fans hope so. 

⚫ How will Florida’s two quarterbacks play?

Florida will play two quarterbacks: sixth-year senior Graham Mertz and five-star freshman DJ Lagway. 

Mertz had a big first half against Tennessee last season. 

He’s a solid quarterback who will try to get the ball out quickly to find a rhythm. 

Lagway is a 6-foot-3, 239-pound athlete with big-play potential. 

He’s just a freshman… but this is also the Florida game. 

🟠 Who will return punts?

It would seem unlikely that Squirrel White will return punts if he’s playing at less than 100 percent.

The favorite to replace White is Jermod McCoy, the Vols’ top cornerback who returned punts earlier in the season.

But what about freshman Boo Carter?

He’s electric with the football and could provide a spark for the Vols. 

It’s something to keep an eye on Saturday night. 

SPORTS NUGGETS

🏈 Would Tennessee playing in the Las Vegas Bowl interest you? That’s Brett McMurphy’s current projection.

🏈 The Big Ten and SEC met in Nashville to discuss the future of college athletics and the control the two conferences will have over it. (Blake Toppmeyer called the Big Ten and SEC commissioners “two mob bosses.”

🏈 Diego Pavia was the talk of college football after leading Vanderbilt past Alabama last weekend..

🏈 The NCAA is eliminating the National Letter of Intent, which makes sense now that it serves no real purpose.

🏀 Grant Ramey provided everything Rick Barnes said at Tennessee’s basketball media day on Thursday.

🏀 We have Tennessee’s basketball schedule complete with tip-off times for the upcoming season.

🎧 Austin Price discussed the upcoming Florida game + a huge recruiting weekend for the Vols. CLICK HERE to listen.

FLORIDA WEEK!

The Tennessee-Florida rivalry has had it all.

• HUGE matchups between top 5 teams
• Incredible finishes that left one side devastated and the other celebrating
• Trash talk and controversy
• Steve Spurrier

The above GIF came from the 2004 game when Dallas Baker and Jonathan Wade exchanged pleasantries late in the fourth quarter.

A flag was thrown on Baker, helping Tennessee set up James Wilhoit for a game-winning 50-yard field goal (after he had missed a game-tying extra point).

(How was that 20 years ago, by the way?)

Many Tennessee fans will say that call against Baker was an overdue makeup call for the Jabar Gaffney touchdown “catch” in 2000.

Florida has dominated the serious since Tennessee won that 2004 game.

The Gators have won 17 of the last 19 games against Tennessee.

This is a chance for Tennessee to win its second straight home game against Florida.

➡️ Here’s a stat: Tennessee hasn’t won consecutive home games against Florida since the 1990 and 1992 seasons.

That’s crazy, right?

Still, this series has featured plenty of great moments on Tennessee’s side:

◼️ A Vols victory in the 1992 downpour
◼️ An overtime win in 1998 (“Pandemonium reigns!”)
◼️ Travis Stephens running all over Florida in 2001
◼️ Jauan Jennings burning Teez Tabor in 2016

Tennessee will try to add to that list this weekend.

Another thing to remember: Tennessee and Florida might not play each other every year after the 2025 season.

The SEC’s scheduling plan is unknown beyond next year; there’s a chance the annual UT-Florida matchup goes away.

This is an important game for Tennessee because of the Vols’ goals this season.

It’s also a chance for Tennessee to right a few wrongs from the past.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL’S HUGE WEEKEND

This weekend will feature a big slate of high-profile college football matchups.

There’s no telling what will happen in the second half of the season — as we often note, there’s a long way to go. 

But this weekend will play a key role in how the rest of the season will play out.

Here’s a look at what’s at stake in several key matchups. 

Oklahoma vs Texas — 3:30 ET, ABC

One of the nation’s best rivalry games makes its SEC debut. 

Texas looks like the best team in the SEC… but it’s early. 

And Oklahoma would LOVE to give Texas its first ever loss as an SEC school. 

OU handed Texas its only loss in the regular season last year. 

Can freshman quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. lead the Sooners to the upset?

Penn State at USC — 3:30 ET, CBS

This is one of the toughest tests of the season for Penn State, which will host Ohio State later in the season but avoids Oregon and Michigan on its schedule. 

USC has already lost two games, including the last week’s upset defeat to Minnesota. 

Coach James Franklin has plenty of detractors because of Penn State’s losses in recent big games.

But if the Nittany Lions win this game, their playoff hopes will get a big boost.

That’s easier said than done traveling all the way to the West Coast. 

Ohio State at Oregon — 7:30 ET, NBC

This is the midseason “who have they played?!” bowl. 

These two teams entered the season as the top contenders to win the Big Ten. 

Nothing has changed with both teams undefeated. 

This might be the first of two (or three?) matchups between the Buckeyes and Ducks. 

Autzen Stadium will be fired up on Saturday night.

Ole Miss at LSU — 7:30 ET, ABC

Lane Kiffin has to be thrilled about this setup:

Ole Miss will play its seventh straight game while LSU is coming off a bye and hosting the game in Baton Rouge. 

At night. 

Ole Miss is dealing with a bunch of injuries — leading receiver Tre Harris is questionable — while LSU is still trying to improve its pass defense. 

The loser of this game will have a tough time making the playoff. 

And the losing head coach will have to face an unhappy fanbase.

Kansas State at Colorado — 10:15 ET, ESPN

Kansas State is one of the Big 12’s top contenders going up against Deion Sanders’ 4-1 Colorado team.

The Buffaloes have outperformed preseason expectations so far this season.

They have Shedeur Sanders, one of the nation’s top quarterbacks, and Colorado’s fans will be fired up for this one.

Coach Prime’s team in a big game that will finish after midnight on the East Coast?

Worth a watch.

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