COMMENTARY: Avoid stupid mistakes and Vols should be OK against Kentucky

Buckle up, the next four weeks of the Tennessee football season might be very interesting.

Or, the Volunteers could lay an egg Saturday and it could all fall apart.

Any sort of margin for error was thrown out the window at South Carolina more than a week ago. The Vols had an open date to ruminate over a game that was tucked in their back pocket, only to be lost with a bundle of mistakes and bad decisions.

A win at South Carolina would have vaulted Tennessee (6-2, 3-2 in Southeastern Conference) into the Top 10 of the poll. Instead, it’s Kentucky (7-1, 4-1) standing at No. 9, while the Vols wallow at 16.

The Wildcats have been living right. They’ve had back-to-back 35-34 overtime wins over South Carolina and LSU. They won by eight at Oklahoma, and started Texas A&M’s slide into obscurity with a 31-21 win over the Aggies in College Station.

Alabama scored 32 unanswered points in the second half at Kentucky to give the Wildcats their only blemish.

How will Tennessee approach this opportunity to get right? Will the Vols be on the attack right out of the gate, like in their demolition of the Crimson Tide? Or, tiptoe out of the locker room and fall behind 14-0, as was the case against the Gamecocks?

One interesting area to watch will be the two offensive lines. Comparing left tackles could be a fun sideshow along with the main event. 

Kentucky’s Lance Heard was an anchor for Tennessee the past couple seasons. When David Sanders, Jr., arrived in Knoxville last season, he was inserted at right tackle for the second half of the season, once an injury cleared up.

It seemed obvious that Sanders, a five-star phenom, was promised left tackle money. Once he assimilated into the Tennessee offense, he was going to be the guy at the high-profile position. 

Heard, likely, wasn’t about to take a demotion, so his only option was to leave. He has found a home and has played exceptionally well at Kentucky.

Given the injury problems the Vols have endured this season, Heard would have been a nice component to have in Knoxville.

If Tennessee can channel the frustration that’s been bottled up for the past two weeks, the Vols have the opportunity to start the home stretch of the season with a victory. 

Neyland at night can work some magic.

So can an opportunistic defense and a solid running game.

Just avoid the stupid mistakes.