What Tennessee Must Do to Become Bowl Eligible

The Tennessee Volunteers' bowl chances are much improved after they stormed back from a 14-point deficit to beat the South Carolina Gamecocks in overtime Saturday, but the team still has work to do to finish out the season strong and ensure a postseason appearance.

There's no question that sophomore quarterback Josh Dobbs is the answer for the Vols' recent offensive woes moving forward. Dobbs accounted for 467 yards of offense by himself, as he threw for 301 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 166 yards and three touchdowns.

Dobbs' mobility—along with the return of redshirt senior offensive tackle Jacob Gilliam, who is playing on a still-torn anterior cruciate ligament—help mask problems in the team's biggest liability: the offensive line.

The same offensive line that likely cost the Vols wins against Georgia and Florida now seems to be a strength, as it gave up zero sacks against the Gamecocks and helped Dobbs and Hurd rush for a combined 291 yards.

But despite all the positives from Saturday's contest—and there were plenty for the Vols to hang their hats on—there are still a few areas of concern that could be problems for Tennessee during the final three-game stretch with bowl hopes on the line.

Here are five problems and opportunities Tennessee must address and capitalize on before finishing out the season.

Get Back to Playing Solid Defense

USA TODAY Sports

Tennessee's defense played exceptionally poorly against South Carolina Saturday, giving up both an 85-yard touchdown pass to Pharoh Cooper and a 70-yard touchdown run to Brandon Wilds that both appeared to clinch a victory for the Gamecocks. 

To be fair, the Gamecocks have one of the country's most potent offenses. 

Wilds and Cooper, as Vols fans and defensive coaching staff alike quickly found out, are both excellent players capable of making even elite defenses look silly, but giving up huge plays like that with the game on the line is unacceptable moving forward. 

Alabama's offense also took advantage of holes in Tennessee's once-stout secondary one week earlier, as Amari Cooper turned in a Heisman-worthy performance against the Vols.

Luckily for Tennessee, there are no wide receivers named Cooper left on the schedule and none that have the skill set of Amari or Pharoh. 

But whatever the previous two offensive coaching staffs saw on tape that allowed them to torch the Vols secondary should be a top concern for defensive coordinator John Jancek and defensive backs coach Willie Martinez this week and next.

Tennessee's defense looked like a unit reborn during the first few weeks of the season, but a lack of depth and considerable drop-off in quality from the two-deep to backups is becoming more and more apparent as the season progresses.

It's important that the defensive starters not only get as much rest as possible this week, but also that the coaching staff finds fresh legs on the roster who can play down the stretch. 

Utilize Marquez North

USA TODAY Sports

Despite his underwhelming stat sheet this season, Marquez North is Tennessee's best wide receiver. 

Injuries and a blanket of defenders have limited his productivity through nine games, but with a week to heal, North needs to be the top priority for the Vols offense, starting with the game against Kentucky on Nov. 15.

Tennessee has no shortage of weapons at wideout, and Pig Howard on Saturday proved that when one wide receiver is unable to go, another will take his place and make big plays when they count. 

Still, with Dobbs bringing a new element to the offense, the more targets he has at wideout, the better.

North represents a mismatch for nearly every defensive back who attempts to guard him, and combined with Jason Croom and Josh Malone, Tennessee's wide receivers are simply bigger and have a decided athletic advantage every time they step on the field.

If North can get back to 100 percent in time for the remaining three-game stretch, Dobbs will have even more options for opening up the passing game and saving his running ability for when it truly counts. 

Limit Dobbs' Rushing Opportunities

USA TODAY Sports

Dobbs' rushing attack against both Alabama and South Carolina was remarkably effective, but it will become less and less potent as defenses get more film of his tendencies and habits with the ball in his hands.

That's why offensive coordinator Mike Bajakian must use the bye week to dial up more pass-first options for Dobbs to keep defenses guessing and allow Tennessee's excellent wide receiver corps to play to its full potential.

Dobbs' passing accuracy is a touch below Justin Worley's in 2014, with Dobbs clocking in at a 58.3 percent completion rate compared to Worley's 62.3 completion rate. 

Still, Dobbs seems to have more velocity on his passes, and a few of his misses Saturday were because his throws just came out too fast for the route the receiver ran. 

Like Worley, Dobbs is also having trouble connecting with receivers on deep throws, with two passes down the sideline coming in just a little underthrown and in danger of getting picked off.

With two weeks to prepare for the Wildcats and work on timing with the wide receivers, Dobbs should be able to improve on his accuracy and force Kentucky to respect the pass before he burns them with quarterback draws and play-action rollouts. 

Find Playmakers at Running Back

RICHARD SHIRO/Associated Press

Freshman running back Jalen Hurd is having an excellent debut season for the Vols. He's piled up nearly 600 yards on the ground and two touchdowns to go with 166 yards receiving and two touchdowns.

But with senior tailback Marlin Lane suffering an apparently severe leg injury against the Gamecocks Saturday, Hurd stands alone at the top of the running back depth chart for Tennessee's final three games of the season.

With fellow senior running back Devrin Young still sidelined by a rib injury, it will be up to another freshman in Derrell Scott to pick up the slack and take the immense burden off Hurd's shoulders.

Running backs coach Robert Gillespie can also call on current freshman kick returner Evan Berry to take snaps at the position, as he practiced with the running backs earlier in the season, according to 247Sports' Ryan Callahan. 

Three freshmen making up the entirety of the running back corps isn't an ideal situation for any team, but with Hurd playing like an upperclassman and Dobbs presenting a major running threat himself, the team should be able to manage the injuries in the final three games of the season if the coaching staff gets creative. 

Pack Neyland Stadium (and Dudley Field)

USA TODAY Sports

Tennessee got a true SEC road win at a place other than Commonwealth Stadium or Dudley Field Saturday for the first time since 2007. 

Because the game was away and at night, and given the Vols' recent futility playing away from home, that win was likely the most difficult to pull off of the team's final games.

With the hardest challenge out of the way, the Vols get a week off before three games in a row in the state of Tennessee—and two of those are at Neyland Stadium.

With a seating capacity of 102,455, playing at home is a big advantage for the Vols, especially when the team is on the cusp of bowl eligibility and has new life on offense thanks to Josh Dobbs.

The Vols will need every bit of home-field advantage in the next two games, as both Kentucky and Missouri are capable of walking out of Neyland Stadium with wins.

In addition, Tennessee also needs to make its presence felt at Dudley Field in Nashville for the Vols' final regular-season game. Vanderbilt has had a tough season under first-year head coach Derek Mason, and the Vols could come close to taking over that stadium by the time the teams meet on Nov. 29. 

Although the Commodores are struggling, Vanderbilt will have no shortage of motivation to extend its winning streak over the Vols to three games and potentially deny Tennessee bowl eligibility for a fourth straight year. 

A crowd decked out in primarily in Orange and White would go a long way toward making sure that doesn't happen.