One of the key aspects of Tennessee’s game against Mississippi State this weekend in Starkville will be trying to slow down the Bulldogs’ up-tempo offensive scheme. It’s not one that Tennessee sees often in the SEC, but the Vols’ defense does have prior experience going against it with their own offense on the practice field.
That doesn’t mean that there won’t be challenges, though. Mississippi State has a veteran quarterback in Blake Shapen, who can run the offense well, and pairs that with a ground game that is averaging 205 yards per game. As a whole, the Bulldogs’ up-tempo offense has them sitting at 39.75 points per game, which is good for eighth in the SEC.
Josh Heupel has been the mastermind of Tennessee’s up-tempo offense for years now. So it’s fair to say that he knows what he needs to see out of his defense to slow down the Bulldogs’ offensive attack. Heupel spoke about key traits that his defense has to play with in order to get off the field and put the Vols’ offense back on it.
“In the tempo, when Mississippi State is playing with that, our ability to communicate – get the signal, get lined up, make the adjustments based off formation – going to be extremely critical in this one,” Heupel said on Thursday’s episode of ‘The Mike Keith Show’ on YouTube. “That’s what tempo is trying to do to you. For us, defensively, we see that during the course of our preparation all year long. But the ordinary things are going to be really important in this one.”
Part of it is being in the right position to make the play. That’s where it starts. But the other side of the coin is about executing the job, both individually and as a whole, after the ball is snapped.
“With the spacing that they have the ability to play in, you’ve got to tackle well out in space,” Heupel continued on to say. “And you’ve got to be able to cover in one-on-ones.”
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It’s an interesting format in this game. Both teams will be running a similar version of the up-tempo offense, but they’ll each be playing against a defense that sees that on the practice field during the year.
“It does help them in their preparation,” Heupel said about his defense practicing against UT’s own tempo offense. “It’s not something that they’ve never seen and a huge adjustment throughout the week. So, for our defense, they’ve seen it. They’ve had to go against a tempo offense. Now, it’s about execution.”
Mississippi State head coach Jeff Lebby said something similar while speaking with Bob Baskerville and Chris Low on ‘The RTI Low-Down’ this past Sunday night. Like Tennessee, his defense will be going against a tempo offense, but does have experience practicing against one going into the game.
“I think again for us defensively, because they see it every single day, I do think that’s an advantage. I really do,” Lebby said about facing the Vols’ style of offense. “And again, there is going to be great familiarity. But just like their defense, and they would probably be saying the same thing. I think that’s really good for our group without a doubt.”
The similarities between the two sides will make for a great chess match on Saturday afternoon in Davis Wade Stadium. It presents a unique style of game that might not be too common around the college football landscape. It should be a fun one.
Mississippi State will host No. 15 Tennessee at 4:15 p.m. ET on Saturday afternoon in Starkville, MS. Stay tuned to Rocky Top Insider for live, on-site coverage of the game.
