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Struggling enough in the passing game to resort to a midseason quarterback change, the Tennessee football team now faces a harsh reality going into a three-game gauntlet that could define a year on the brink of disaster.

It's not having much luck running the ball, either.

An offense that previously found success on the ground seems to have lost its identity. The Volunteers (2-3, 0-2 Southeastern Conference) have rushed for just 96.3 yards per game over the last three weeks, slipping to eighth in the SEC in rushing offense.

They ran for a season-low 69 yards Saturday night in a 13-9 win over Northern Illinois, exposing yet another cause for concern going into a brutal stretch that includes a trip to No. 10 Georgia (4-1, 1-1) on Saturday and a shot at second-ranked Alabama on Oct. 25.

"We don't have an effort problem," UT coach Phillip Fulmer said Sunday. "I don't think we have an ability problem. We just have an execution thing going on, and we've got to correct that. Our offense has struggled to get consistency."

Perhaps no one could have foreseen the running game being part of the problem.

The Vols brought back all five starters on an offensive line that allowed the fewest sacks in the nation last season. Senior tailback Arian Foster, inching closer each week to UT's all-time career rushing record, headed a backfield that returned its top three rushers.

But none of them has played too well since the first two games of the season, when the Vols ranked among the nation's top running teams by piling up an average of 221.5 yards.

Foster, who leads the team with 338 rushing yards, has caused problems with his penchant for untimely turnovers, while the offensive line, Fulmer admitted, has played "not 100 percent up to what I would have expected out of those guys."

Things got even worse against the Huskies, who limited the Vols to 2.2 yards per carry.

Foster ran for a game-high 75 yards on 18 rushes, but his longest gain covered only 16 yards. Junior backup tailback Montario Hardesty had only 20 yards on seven attempts, and sophomore Lennon Creer didn't receive a carry.

"I'd like to have gotten Montario and Lennon in a lot more than we did. We just didn't have many plays," Fulmer said, referring to UT's 51 offensive snaps.

All three tailbacks will continue to share playing time, Fulmer said, with "the hot player" staying in the game whenever possible.

Who's doing the running, however, might not be the biggest issue.

Offensive coordinator Dave Clawson pointed out that Northern Illinois stacked the line of scrimmage to defend the run, an increasingly popular tactic used to defend the Vols. Florida and Auburn did the same, limiting UT to a combined 220 rushing yards in its first two SEC games.

An inept passing game, which showed improvement Saturday with redshirt sophomore quarterback Nick Stephens making his first career start, has allowed opponents to leave receivers in man-to-man coverage, Clawson explained.

"I'm disappointed we didn't run it more effectively (Saturday). But with the way we're playing, people are sticking a lot of people in the line of scrimmage, and we've got one-on-one matchups on the outside," Clawson said.

"You can constantly pound the football and have a guy unblocked and say your back's going to make them miss all the time. At a certain point, you've got to work those one-on-one matchups."

Tennessee's final offensive series against the Huskies provided a perfect example.

Needing only a first down to run out the clock, the Vols ran up the middle three consecutive times after setting up second-and-1 at Northern Illinois' 18-yard line. Hardesty was stopped for -- in order -- no gain, a 1-yard loss and minus-2 yards.

That gave the Huskies the ball with 13 seconds remaining and one last chance to pull off the upset. The Vols made one final stop to seal the win, but it never should have been needed, Fulmer said.

Each of the final three running plays, he said, failed as the result of a different breakdown. Therein lies the problem for UT.

"It wasn't all the offensive line. They did a couple of really nice things. One time it was the fullback. One time it was an offensive lineman. Another time it was a cut (getting) cut off on the back side by the tight end," Fulmer said.

"It's just one of those things where we've got to put it all together and not shoot ourselves in the foot by poor execution."