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Volunteers' Defense Struggles: Tackling Woes Threaten Playoff Hopes

10/29/2025

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Summary

Story summary

The Tennessee Volunteers' defense is struggling this season, ranking last in SEC passing defense and 15th in scoring defense.
Despite forcing 14 turnovers, the Vols have missed 98 tackles, the most in the conference.
Senior defensive lineman Dominic Bailey called their tackling 'terrible,' signaling fundamentals are a major issue.
Against No. 18 Oklahoma, coach Josh Heupel says the issues are fixable and must be addressed to protect playoff hopes.

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Story summary

The Tennessee Volunteers' defense is struggling this season, ranking last in SEC passing defense and 15th in scoring defense.
Despite forcing 14 turnovers, the Vols have missed 98 tackles, the most in the conference.
Senior defensive lineman Dominic Bailey called their tackling 'terrible,' signaling fundamentals are a major issue.
Against No. 18 Oklahoma, coach Josh Heupel says the issues are fixable and must be addressed to protect playoff hopes.