A lot has been made of the Tennessee Volunteers’ 38-7 victory over the Utah State Aggies, but Sunday’s contest did do one thing for certain: hand the Vols a short week to prepare for Week 2.
“We came in on Monday and got right to work, but you have to be cognizant that it is a short week for them, and it was a physical football game,” second-year head coach Butch Jones said. “We have to keep that in mind. We have a lot of work to do, and it is a balancing act. What you did last week has absolutely no bearing on the outcome of this week.
“You have to have a short-term memory. It doesn’t matter if you win or lose. You have to move on, and that is what we have been stressing with a good football team coming here.”
Enter the Arkansas State Red Wolves, a speedy Sun Belt opponent who has appeared in the GoDaddy Bowl each of the last three seasons.
With ASU’s new head coach Blake Anderson in the works, preparing for the Red Wolves has proven to be a difficulty for the Vols.
“Well it’s a challenge, and again you have the Montana State game, but you have to look at other forms of where they have been and kind of try to say, ‘OK what games are they going to look at? How are they going to try to schematically line up against us,’ so it’s a great challenge especially with a young football team,” Jones said.
“It’s still another game of the unknowns because we only have one film on them. A lot of times, the packages of offense, defense and special teams will continue to expand and grow from week one to week two, just like we’ll do some different things as well. You have to be ready for anything and everything.”
Tennessee goes into Saturday’s contest 7-0 all-time against Sun Belt teams, with one of those victories coming against the Red Wolves back in 2007.
The Vols would benefit from senior quarterback Justin Worley having a similar performance to the one then-signal caller Eric Ainge had on that October evening, when he passed for 334 yards and four touchdowns to lead UT to a 48-27 victory.
But this was before Arkansas State underwent five coaching changes in the last five years en route to becoming a competitive Division-I program, and the Vols know this time around victory won’t come so easy.
“Arkansas State, comes in here, their players expect to win no matter who the head coach has been,” Jones said. “They win, and they go to bowl games. If you look at their body of work over a period of time it has been very, very impressive.
“They are a good football team. Our football team has to come in ready to play Saturday at noon.”
Game Notes: The University of Tennessee has designated Saturday’s contest against the Red Wolves as the Military Appreciation Game for 2014.
At halftime, the Pride of the Southland Band will pay tribute to the military with their performance, one which will be accompanied by country music icon Lee Greenwood.
The halftime performance will be accompanied by UT’s designation as Purple Heart University by the Military Order of the Purple Heart, Department of Tennessee, for its commitment to veterans and the military.
Fans will be given the opportunity to express their appreciation for our servicemen and women by signing and writing messages of appreciation on a banner which will be set up outside Gate 21 of Neyland Stadium.
