What Tennessee Must Do to Turn Things Around and Reach Bowl Game in 2014

Opportunities remain for the Tennessee Volunteers to get those elusive six wins and become bowl-eligible for the first time since 2010, but they have a lot of work to do if they want to reach that goal.

The Vols' 10-9 loss to Florida in Neyland Stadium happened because UT squandered a nine-point fourth-quarter lead. The result was a 10th consecutive loss to the Gators and the Vols' third straight setback to drop their record to 2-3.

Saturday was pivotal for UT's season, and the Vols couldn't take advantage.

They know it, too.

UT coach Butch Jones was more terse with the media during Monday's press conference than he has been at any point this season, defending his offensive scheme and personnel decisions. Close losses wear on everybody involved, and it's no different on Rocky Top.

The admittedly impatient coach knows UT's young Vols—who've played 22 true freshmen and will add another to that list this week in running back Derrell Scott—are extremely close to breaking through.

But, so far, the Vols haven't done so with a big win.

A schedule riddled with land mines awaits, and, somehow, Jones and his young team have to come up with four more wins. This weekend's homecoming game against Chattanooga should be one, but, beyond that, from where will they come?

Some things have to change and improve if Tennessee is going to go bowling.

Cut Out Pivotal Mistakes

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Staying in games hasn't been an issue for the Vols, but they've made extremely costly blunders that led to losses.

A few of them were unforced, too.

Trying to trim Oklahoma's late lead to 27-17, Justin Worley tried to force the football into double coverage from the 3-yard line. The ball was intercepted and returned 100 yards for a game-clinching score. It was his second interception in the end zone against OU.

With UT down only three points to Georgia in the fourth quarter, freshman running back Jalen Hurd lost a fumble that was recovered by UGA defensive lineman Josh Dawson for a touchdown to give the Bulldogs an insurmountable 10-point lead.

With UT leading Florida 9-0 at the end of the third quarter, Worley was hit by blitzing cornerback Jalen Tabor. Worley fumbled at the Gators' 30-yard line, and Treon Harris led them to a touchdown.

That pivotal play was sandwiched around other major miscues as well.

Linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin's potentially momentum-changing interception to start the second half was virtually erased when Worley threw one to Vernon Hargreaves III on the very next play.

Fast forward to UT's frenetic, game-ending drive when the Vols were down by a point. After converting a 4th-and-long pass to Pig Howard, Worley threw into double coverage again in what appeared to be a miscommunication with his receiver. It, too, was intercepted, and UT's hopes were dashed.

Those were all poor decisions that cost UT a shot to win key football games.

In four red-zone trips against the Gators, UT came away with nine points. Worley took the blame, telling GoVols247's Wes Rucker:

"

I think I’ve forced the ball a little bit more, made a couple of stupid throws that I wish I could take back. But, yeah, turnovers have hurt us the past couple of games. You can’t win when you turn the ball over. I, myself, have to do a better job personally. I take full responsibility for those plays. …

We've just got to protect the ball a little better. … It starts with me. I'm the quarterback.

"

The Vols haven't helped themselves with things like three false-start penalties on third downs against the Gators, but that stuff happens. It's the momentum-gutting cripplers that UT specializes in with games on the line, and they've got to cut them out.

Fix a Foundering Offense

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Tennessee's porous offensive line hamstrings everything the Vols want to do on that side of the football. But the issues are deeper-rooted than that.

Jones noted, according to Rucker, that offensive coordinator Mike Bajakian's scheme is not to blame for the struggles. Instead, it's the execution.

"

Everyone thinks a great play call is a magical cure. Everybody runs the same plays. It comes down to execution. It's one-on-one matchups. There's only so many things we can do with run schemes and pass schemes. It still comes down to winning your one-on-one matchups, and that's the game of football.

"

Drops. Turnovers. Penalties. Mental blunders. They've all plagued the Vols.

Tennessee is 13th in the SEC in scoring offense, 13th in total offense, last in rushing offense and seventh in passing offense. Those are staggeringly telling numbers about how bad UT has been on that side of the ball.

Along with the blocking deficiencies, the team doesn't have a fullback it can plug in, either. The Vols have sometimes put a tight end in the backfield to help matters, but that doesn't always work when the offensive front is getting manhandled at the point of attack.

A week after defending Bajakian following a 32-point performance at Georgia, Jones again went to bat for his offensive coordinator this week.

This scheme, Jones said, is the best for the personnel on UT's roster, and play-calling isn't the reason for the struggles against the Gators.

Issues remain, however. So how do the Vols fix them?

Tennessee's scheme is far from perfect, but Bajakian—who has become a bit of a fall guy on UT message boards—isn't a miracle worker.

He's still charged with finding some ways to open up an offense that is devoid of an SEC-caliber line, but the Vols have to execute.

The onus falls on Worley and the offensive line, but they're not alone in shouldering blame.

Where was lethal weapon Ethan Wolf against Florida? The Vols' star freshman tight end, who'd been such an integral part of the offense, had one catch for three yards.

Marquez North finished with just four catches for 26 yards. Freshman Josh Malone had some critical drops, including an early one in the red zone that could have gone for a touchdown.

Though Von Pearson returned to the field, he was extremely limited and held to one catch against the Gators.

Since Worley doesn't have any time to let plays develop downfield, he has to rely on getting the ball to his elusive playmakers and letting them make big things happen. Nobody is better at that than Pearson, and UT will be better once he gets healthy.

Tennessee's offensive stars aren't starring. That has to improve immediately.

From play-calling to execution to finishing drives with touchdowns, the Vols must do a better job scoring points or they'll be watching bowl season for a fourth consecutive year.

Close the Deal

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Of course, all three of these points bleed together into one universal conclusion: Tennessee has to pull off a key win that will open the program's floodgates.

Anybody can see UT is no longer the pushover it has been, but the Vols still aren't winners. They can't break through.

For those who point to last year's game against South Carolina qualifying as a signature win for the Jones regime, that's true. But that was another team, senior-laden and totally different than this group of freshmen.

"Team 118" needs to win a big game against a quality opponent to prove to everybody that it can and to provide another steppingstone for the program.

To do that, the Vols have to stop turning the ball over, they've got to execute better on offense and they've got to get over the psychological hump of winning a big game. It's a lesson every young team needs to learn, and UT has yet to do it.

There are several opportunities left. The Vols should beat the Mocs this weekend, but somewhere among a gauntlet of Ole Miss, Alabama, South Carolina, Kentucky, Missouri and Vanderbilt, they need to find three more wins.

There's no reason to think that can't happen; most of those teams have proven flawed. But expecting wins and actually winning are two totally separate things. UT has to get to the point where it breaks through.

It goes back to one of Jones' sayings this offseason about "earning the right to win." This Vols team hasn't done it yet. When the breaks fall, they routinely fail to fall UT's way.

Until that changes, Tennessee will stay at the bottom of the SEC, and they'll miss a bowl game yet again.

All statistics taken from CFBStats.com. quotes gathered firsthand and all recruiting information taken from 247Sports.com, unless otherwise noted.

Brad Shepard covers SEC football and is the Tennessee Lead Writer for Bleacher Report. Follow Brad on Twitter @Brad_Shepard.