Tennessee Football: What Vols Must Fix During Bye Week

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The sweet start to Tennessee's football season gave way to a sour stretch to close the Volunteers' four-game grinder heading into the much-needed bye week.

Coach Butch Jones' team finally snapped an 11-year losing streak to Florida and survived Georgia with a last-second Hail Mary, but the Vols dropped a double-overtime affair at Texas A&M before Alabama destroyed them last weekend.

The Vols sit at 5-2, which is pretty much what most expected. Though they've been lauded nationally for their cardiac comebacks, the season has been wildly imperfect thus far. UT has yet to play a full game.

In other words, there are plenty of things to work on down the home stretch.

"Season 1 over; Season 2 starts after this bye week," UT star defensive end Derek Barnett said following a 49-10 loss to 'Bama, "so we've got to keep it rolling, and we can't let one game define our whole season."

The good news for the No. 18 Vols is their schedule is manageable down the stretch, starting with a trip to South Carolina before three home games against Tennessee Tech, Kentucky and Missouri before heading to Vanderbilt to close the season.

The bad news is UT is as injury-depleted as anybody in the country.

While there aren't enough words to talk about everybody who's hurt, this should give you an idea:

Against the Crimson Tide, UT was without star linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin, who is likely lost for the season, as well as fellow second-level defenders Darrin Kirkland Jr., Cortez McDowell and Quart'e Sapp.

Defensive backs Cam Sutton and Malik Foreman were out, and now, defensive tackle Kahlil McKenzie will miss an extended period of time, too.

Offensive linemen Dylan Wiesman and Jashon Robertson missed the Alabama game, and tackles Brett Kendrick and Chance Hall exited the contest with an injury as well.

On top of the injuries, starting defensive tackle Danny O'Brien was booted from the team, and receiver Preston Williams quit.

Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

So, the first thing Tennessee must work on during its bye week is getting healthy. It's possible UT could get Kirkland, McDowell, Foreman, Wiesman, Robertson, Kendrick and Hall back for the Gamecocks. 

But even if so, injuries are part of football, and they've hit Tennessee extra hard this season. The Vols have 13 players out who've started a game this season. That's why they must improve their depth all over the place.

"I think it had an impact just because of the injuries," Jones said of the stretch against Florida, Georgia, A&M and 'Bama. "We've played the third-toughest schedule in America. They've been hard-fought, physical football games.

"The top teams in this conference that win consistently are the ones who have great role players, who embrace their role. We have some individuals who have been able to do that for us. The bye week is coming at the appropriate time."

After pulling freshman tackle Marcus Tatum's redshirt out of necessity against the Tide, he needs to get some reps. The same goes for redshirt freshman guard Venzell Boulware and classmate Drew Richmond— an offensive tackle.

Defensive linemen Jonathan Kongbo, Kyle Phillips, Quay Picou and Darrell Taylor as well as safety Nigel Warrior and cornerback Baylen Buchanan are just a few more names who need to be relied upon moving forward.

Jones talked with the media, per Rocky Top Insider, in his postgame press conference about the extent of the injury plague that has consumed his team:

From a coaching standpoint, the Vols also have plenty of room for improvement. 

There have been some brilliant stretches for offensive coordinator Mike DeBord, who dialed up great play calls against Florida and Texas A&M, particularly in the second halves of those games, but the Alabama game plan was an atrocity. 

Tennessee has to find more ways to get quarterback Joshua Dobbs running the football to open up the rest of his game. 

Defensively, new coordinator Bob Shoop worked a few miracles in important moments, but with all the injuries, Tennessee has been exposed in run defense. The Vols aren't throwing out the team they expected to this year, but it's glaring that they're 88th in total defense and 107th in rush defense.

Especially after Shoop told WNML Knoxville radio host Jimmy Hyams this summer:

Ouch. Even if the Vols still have five games against lesser opponents to perhaps pad those stats, that's a comment that will sting to remember.

It's difficult to fault Shoop for his confidence. At the time, JRM, O'Brien, McKenzie and Kirkland were all vital parts of his defense, and they've missed swaths of the season. But the Vols need to piece together a formidable unit moving forward and get better against the run.

Vanderbilt's Ralph Webb is the only stud runner left on UT's schedule, so the Vols need to shut down opponents' rushing attack the rest of the way and quit playing down to competition.

Finally, if there's one thing the Vols could take a ton of pride in during the first three years of Jones' tenure, it was they were a disciplined program. They rarely beat themselves with silly mistakes.

That hasn't been the case in 2016. 

UT is 12th in the league in penalties, and the Vols are next-to-last in turnover margin. They're dead last in giveaways with 17, buoyed by the seven-turnover affair in a loss at Texas A&M.

When you couple that erratic style with the Vols' slow starts—they've been outscored 119-65 in the first half this season—Tennessee is lucky to be 5-2.

Jones and his players need to refocus on fundamentals, playing full games and controlling both lines of scrimmage throughout the outset of the season. If the Vols can do that, it wouldn't be surprising to see them in Atlanta in December.

With Florida needing to lose again for that to happen, UT can't afford another slip-up.

"Every game," Jones said, "is a championship game from here on out."

Quotes and information gathered firsthand unless otherwise noted. Statistics obtained from cfbstats.com, unless otherwise noted.

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