Tennessee's defense is preparing for a stiff challenge from Ohio's Bobcats on Saturday at Neyland Stadium. Ohio is averaging 563 yards of offense and 45.5 points after two games.
photo by Tennessee Athletics
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Tennessee quarterback Joshua Dobbs, defensive end Derek Barnett and defensive lineman Kendal Vickers met with members of the media on Tuesday to discuss the Vols' preparations for Saturday's game against Ohio.
Kickoff against the Bobcats is set for 12 p.m.
EDT on Saturday at Neyland Stadium and will be televised by the SEC Network.
Tennessee is 2-0 to open the season and is fresh off a 45-24 win over Virginia Tech in front of a record 156,990 fans at the Battle at Bristol. The Vols fell behind early, trailing 14-0 at the end of the first quarter, but scored 31 points unanswered en route to its 24th consecutive victory over unranked non-conference opponents. Dobbs accounted for five touchdowns in the win, with three scores through the air and two on the ground.
Ohio (1-1) brings a high-powered offense into Neyland Stadium, averaging 45.5 points and 563.0 yards of total offense per game. The Bobcats dropped their season opener, 56-54, to Texas State in triple overtime, but rebounded last week with a 37-21 road win at Kansas.
Dobbs, Barnett, and Vickers shared their thoughts on the Vols' upcoming game and looked back on the lessons learned from a historic night at Bristol Motor Speedway in Week Two.
Joshua Dobbs | Quarterback
With a thrilling win over Virginia Tech in front of a historic crowd at the Battle at Bristol now in the rearview and a challenging gauntlet of SEC contests looming in the near future, Dobbs was adamant that his team has all of its attention placed firmly Saturday's game against Ohio. Facing a Bobcat defense that ranks 15th against the run, Dobbs knows the Vols can ill-afford another slow start.
"Ohio is a veteran team and it's a noon kickoff, so we need to start fast and be ready to go from the get-go. But this is the most important game on our schedule because it's the next game. There's no looking ahead. We're just locked in on the task at hand and getting ready for this Saturday."
Derek Barnett | Defensive End
Barnett walked way from Saturday's win over Virginia Tech with just one tackle, marking just the second time in his Tennessee career that he had been held to fewer than two tackles in a game. While the junior doubted that the Hokies intentionally avoided running in his direction, Barnett said that he is challenging himself to make a greater impact on games going forward.
"I don't know if they were trying to run away from me, but with all the chip blocks I'll take it as a compliment. But it's still not an excuse for me not to be (in the backfield). This week I told myself I'm focusing on the small details. We played good up front, so that's all I care about, is how we play as a unit."
Kendal Vickers | Defensive Lineman
Key to the win over Virginia Tech was Tennessee forcing five turnovers. Vickers was responsible for forcing one of those as he chased down Cam Phillips and knocked the ball out, allowing Abernathy to scoop up one of his school record three fumble recoveries.
"It was a jailbreak screen or something like that. The D-line can make a lot of plays on screens like that with just effort. I thought I had a chance to chase him down to try to strip the ball. When I got there I saw the ball was out a little bit and I tried to put my hand in there and got the ball out and that’s what I did."
More Sound Bites
Dobbs
(On his early-season connection with WR Josh Malone)
"That trust is built in the preseason, in the offseason and in the time leading up to the season. He and I have a great chemistry and a great connection and he's been able to go up and make plays and I've been able to the put the ball in a place where he can go make a play on it. It's something that we need to continue to do and other guys will have the opportunity to go up and make plays."
Barnett
(On kicking off a noon vs. Ohio as opposed to evening start times)
"I think it's good. We wake up and it's straight to ball. I don't like sitting around all day and I don't think a lot of my teammates do either. I think it will be a good adjustment for us."
Vickers
(On what Barnett brings to the team)
"He makes life a whole lot easier, as you all see. He gets chipped, double-teamed, triple-teamed. That’s just leaves one of us with one-on-one matchups that we need to win 10 out of 10 times. Barnett he creates so many matchup problems, it’s ridiculous."
(Contact Larry Fleming at larryfleming44@gmail.com and on Twitter @larryfleming44)