The Tennessee Volunteers (5-5, 2-4 SEC) look to extend their two-game winning streak Saturday as they host No. 19 Missouri (8-2, 5-1) at Neyland Stadium. The Vols opened as a three-point favorite, despite facing the defending SEC East champion and current division leader. Head coach Butch Jones is well aware of the challenges Missouri presents to his young team, as he noted during his weekly press conference Monday.
“When you look at Missouri, they have won seven SEC road games in a row,” Jones said. “Nine road games overall, which is very, very impressive. When you think about them, it first starts defensively. They are number one in the SEC in sacks, number six in the country overall. Number 16th in the country in scoring defense, and 22nd in the country in total defense.
“They have the ability to dominate a football game. Best tandem of defensive ends we have faced to date in Shane Ray. Which some individuals think will be the first overall pick int he NFL draft and Markus Golden as well. When you look at the formula for truly winning in this conference, all juniors and seniors on the defensive side of the ball and really on their football team. So you can’t put a value amount on experience.”
Jones mentioned that his defense will focus on quarterback Maty Mauk. Jones has a familiarity with Mauk dating back to his previous coaching stint at Cincinnati, where he recruited the Kenton, Ohio native.
“Son of a head coach, he thinks that way,” Jones said. “He can improvise, make plays with his legs. Very, very accurate. The thing that comes to mind most when you think of Maty Mauk is his competitive greatness. He is a great competitor. Very, very good running backs.
Jones also praised Missouri’s skill position players and the speed the Tigers possess.
“Return game, 12th in the country, Marcus Murphy is a very, very dynamic performer,” Jones said. “Wide receivers, a lot of length, can go up, play the ball in the air, high point the ball. And very, very physical offensive line. So a very, very complete football team in Missouri, very well-coached, very dynamic. Very good on special teams. So they will pose a lot of issues for us and a lot of challenges. So looking forward to it.”
A former freelance journalist from Nashville, Jason covers Tennessee, Vanderbilt and Kentucky
