Crystal LoGiudice/USA TODAY Sports
The struggling Tennessee Volunteers (3-5, 0-5 SEC) play their homecoming game this weekend against the Golden Eagles of Southern Mississippi (5-3, 3-2 C-USA). Both teams are looking for a better outcome than their respective games last week, with Tennessee falling to Kentucky and Southern Miss losing to UAB. Here’s a look at the upcoming game by the numbers.
-13 – Number of rushing yards on the season for redshirt freshman quarterback Jarrett Guarantano. Guarantano has 53 rushes on the season, but due to his struggling offensive line, he is becoming more and more prone to sacks and tackles for loss.
1st – Tennessee’s FBS rank in passing yards allowed. Tennessee’s secondary has been playing pretty close to perfect this season, but the defense needs a big improvement to stop the run at the same level.
1 – The number of coaches poll spots higher Southern Miss sits than Tennessee. The Golden Eagles are ranked No. 80, with the Vols right below them at No. 81. This is not going to be a pushover game.
3 – Jersey number of breakout freshman Ty Chandler. A graduate of Montgomery Bell Academy in Nashville, Chandler was a highly rated running back recruit out of high school. After the one-game suspension of starting running back John Kelly, Chandler played an impressive game against Kentucky with hopes to be utilized even more in the future.
4.5 – Number of sacks on the season for linebacker Colton Jumper. With the injury to Darrin Kirkland Jr. in the preseason, Jumper has filled in nicely and been a leader among Tennessee’s young linebacker core.
4.9 – Average yards per rush on the season for freshman running back Ty Chandler. After an good performance against foe Kentucky, Chandler will look to duplicate his success this week alongside John Kelly’s return.
7 – Number of points Southern Miss lost to Kentucky by, which is only four more points then the Vols lost by last week. The difference? Tennessee is an SEC team with a long past of football success, whereas Southern Miss is a team that has only beaten one Power 5 team in the past five years.
40th – Southern Miss’ FBS rank in total passing yards this season. With a mobile quarterback in Keon Howard and a receiving core with stars Korey Robertson and running back Ito Smith, Tennessee’s critically acclaimed secondary will have its work cut out to stop a better pass game.
82 – Number of passing yards the Vols allowed against Kentucky last week. Southern Miss is a pass-first team, so the Volunteers are set up to fare well on defense, at least by the numbers.
112.4 – Quarterback Jarrett Guarantano’s passer efficiency rating on the season. Even though he only has 81 pass attempts, his hardest games of the season are behind him, and he should only improve from here.
2,183 – Rushing yards that Tennessee has given up to this point in the season. With teams like LSU and Vanderbilt still left on the schedule, the Vols’ front seven is going to have to step up in the coming weeks.
