WATCH: Tennessee football brings the heat vs. Pitt early

The Tennessee defense and special teams brought the heat early against Pitt, setting up the offense for a quick touchdown to start the game. Pitt started the game with the ball but found little success attacking the Tennessee defense through the air, leading to an early three-and-out. The Vols special teams unit then took over to set up a quick score.

After stopping Pitt quarterback Kenny Pickett’s first pass for a loss of four, the Vols defense kept the opposing offense from moving down the field to start the game. When the punter took the snap on fourth down, two Tennessee defenders were already on top of the play. Missed assignments and a good rush led to a blocked kick which set up the Tennessee offense with first-and-goal at the 2-yard line.

Horrific punt protection from Pitt here. pic.twitter.com/RLu6tWc1l8

— Bryan Fischer (@BryanDFischer) September 11, 2021

Tennessee running back Jabari Small took the first carry of the game into the endzone to take a 7-0 lead with 13:34 left on the clock in the first quarter.

Tennessee coordinator on facing Pitt

Tennessee defensive coordinator Tim Banks has developed plenty of scouting reports in his 25 years of coaching and he is ready to bring the heat against Pitt. Banks spent the past five seasons as the co-defensive coordinator at Penn State, where he went 3-1 against in-state rival Pitt.

“We understand what the expectation is in terms of the physicality those guys will try to play with and we will have to try to match that and play with the same energy and edge, but overall, they are a veteran offensive group and they have played together for a long time,” Banks told reporters during his Tuesday press conference. “We have to play hard and work hard to execute and make sure we are doing our job.”

Banks went on the break down what he knows about the veteran group of leaders on the Pitt offense.

“First off, (Pat) Narduzzi and those guys, that whole Pitt program has done a great job since those guys have been there,” said Banks. “It starts with the quarterback. He is obviously an experienced guy. He’s played a lot of ball. He’s athletic and seems to be able to make all the plays.”

Pitt’s quarterback Kenny Pickett has been with the team since 2017, playing against Banks’ defense in 2018 and 2019. He has 8,256 career passing yards with 41 touchdowns and 25 interceptions. He has also run for 607 yards with 15 touchdowns.