Final: Tennessee 24, Southern Miss 10. Two key turnovers and lots of penalties propel the Vols to victory over Southern Miss on homecoming.
Here’s our Live coverage of the Vols’ win over the Golden Eagles.
Fourth Quarter
3:03 — Griggs sneaks up the middle on fourth and inches…but Bob Shoop’s defense comes up with the stop. That should end this one. Tennessee takes over at its own 39.
3:41 — Griggs goes deep…and his passed should’ve been picked. It went right through Emmanuel Moseley’s hands.
4:00 — Tennessee’s defense is starting to wear down a bit. The Southern Miss rushing game is finding space to the outside with Griggs at quarterback. They’re up to the Tennessee 48 after two quick plays.
5:05 — John Kelly gets stuffed on consecutive plays for another three-and-out. Trevor Daniel’s 50 yard punt is returned up to midfield. The Golden Eagles still have some life…
6:45 — Touchdown Southern Miss. The Golden Eagles march down the field and new quarterback Kwadra Griggs finds the endzone on a QB sneak. Griggs was 4-for-4 with 49 passing yards in his first drive. The Golden Eagles trail by just two touchdowns now.
9:23 — First downs! Southern Miss has four first downs on four plays, and now they’re inside Tennessee territory for the first time in the second half.
10:24 — Both teams go three-and-out again. Ethan Wolf drops a pass on third down to bring Daniel out to punt once again. That’s four dropped passes for McBride now in his first college game.
13:15 — Three carries, five yards for the Vols on their last drive, and Daniel is on to punt once again. Without a few key turnovers, UT would likely be in a tight game right now. But with a three touchdown advantage, you’re seeing some ultra-conservative playcalling to prevent Southern Miss from getting a short field because of a mistake from the Vols’ freshman quarterback.
End of the Third Quarter: Tennessee 24, Southern Miss 3. The Vols have out-gained the Golden Eagles by just 11 yards, 195-184. But a couple turnovers and costly penalties are the difference in this one. Southern Miss has 12 penalties for 105 yards. UT hasn’t been flagged all night.
1:37 — Will McBride throws behind Tyler Byrd on third down. Tennessee will punt it back to Southern Miss after gaining just two yards on a Ty Chandler run.
2:34 — The Vols bring outside pressure on third down, forcing another incompletion. Punting unit back out for the Golden Eagles, who have just 26 total yards in the second half.
3:17 — Touchdown Tennessee. John Kelly again, this time from three yards out after the penalties.
3:21 — Southern Miss is called for leaping on a potential Tennessee field goal. UT has first and goal…and head coach Jay Hopson just got called for another 15 yard penalty for berating the officials in the middle of the field.
4:30 — Welcome back, Darrell Taylor! He forces a fumble on third down, which is recovered by Gaulden. Tennessee has excellent field position once again.
Darrell Taylor forces the fumble and Rahsaan Gaulden falls on it. Another big turnover forced by the #Vols defense! pic.twitter.com/snMlaNnwOP
— Rocky Top Insider (@rockytopinsider) November 5, 2017
5:15 — Touchdown Tennessee. Emmanuel Moseley intercepts Howard, and John Kelly runs for a 20 yard touchdown on the very next play. Tennessee 17, Southern Miss 3.
John Kelly stretches into the endzone after Moseley’s pick. Huge sequence of plays for the Vols. pic.twitter.com/MCxTwA1bcM
— Rocky Top Insider (@rockytopinsider) November 5, 2017
Emmanuel Moseley gets his first pick of the season at a very good time pic.twitter.com/a0sMrNI3v8
— Rocky Top Insider (@rockytopinsider) November 5, 2017
8:23 — Will McBride scrambles on third down, but gains just three yards. Daniel’s 55-yard punt pens the Golden Eagles deep in their own territory once again. Jarrett Guarantano headed to the locker room after that drive, so it’s McBride’s game from here on out barring an injury.
9:14 — Coleman Thomas is down now. Tennessee has to turn to more youngsters on the offensive line. Jashon Robertson will move back to center and Riley Locklear is now slotted in at guard.
9:54 — Another three-and-out. For now, the defense is holding well. After the quick stop, Tennessee takes over at its own 30. Southern Miss has just 154 total yards tonight. 70 of those yards came on one play.
11:15 — Now Marquez Callaway is hurt after dropping a pass on second down. This is getting a bit ridiculous. Jeff George drops a ball on third down, and Tennessee brings the punting unit out on the 41 yard line.
12:24 — McBride carries for five yards then finds Ethan Wolf on third down for a gain of 13. Not a bad start for the true freshman, who doesn’t seemed phased by his first action in college.
13:47 — Early negative yardage plays hurting Southern Miss again as the second half begins. They go three-and-out. But Will McBride is back in at quarterback for Tennessee on its first possession.
HALF: Tennessee 10, Southern Miss 3. Without eight penalties for 75 yards, maybe the Golden Eagles would be tied or in the lead. Other than the opening drive, Tennessee struggled to get things moving offensively in the opening 30 minutes.
Your halftime stats. Not exactly a shootout: pic.twitter.com/qUSIPDl1JR
— Rocky Top Insider (@rockytopinsider) November 5, 2017
1:24 — Keon Howard moves the chains again with his legs. This time he eludes the rush from Rashaan Gaulden on the outside to gain the first down.
2:47 — Aaron Medley connects on a 38-yard field goal. 2-minute drill time for Southern Miss, trailing by a touchdown.
4:26 — McBride’s first pass goes just through the hands of Josh Palmer in the endzone. That was a fantastic throw. But good news…Jarrett Guarantano is heading back onto the field. Will McBride lost his redshirt season for three plays. That hurts.
5:57 — Guarantano is down after a 10 yard throw to Jordan Murphy. It’s Will McBride time. His redshirt is gone.
6:36 — Jarrett Guarantano has his right ankle taped up and he’s walking gingerly in and out of the huddle right now. But the Vols are moving the ball. After Southern Miss’s eighth penalty, UT has the ball at their own 40.
8:16 — Southern Miss adds a 27-yard field goal. The Golden Eagles go 77 yards on 10 plays to get on the scoreboard.
10:03 — Southern Miss moves the chains with a big conversion on third down. Korey Robertson hauls in a deep ball, running down the sideline for a game of 70. Emmanuel Moseley got beat down the edge.
14:15 — Devante Brooks gives up an easy sack on second down, and the Vols can’t recover from the seven yard loss. Trevor Daniel’s 52 yard punt is returned for 13 yards. After a block in the back penalty, the Golden Eagles will start their next drive at the 13.
End of the First Quarter: Tennessee 7, Southern Miss 0. John Kelly needs to get going. He’s been stopped at or behind the line of scrimmage four times tonight. The junior running back only has 11 yards on five carries.
1:35 — Penalties hurt the Golden Eagles again. They take an illegal substitution penalty on first down which knocks them off schedule. On fourth and two, they punt back to the Vols, who will take over at their own 17.
3:15 — Tennessee goes for it on fourth and two, and Guarantano makes a bad decision throwing into coverage over the middle. The offensive line on that play was Smith-Johnson-Robertson-Locklear-Thomas.
4:13 — Marquez Callaway just made an absurdly good catch on the sideline.
Great throw by Guarantano…sensational catch by Callaway! pic.twitter.com/2w7vxHtrsg
— Rocky Top Insider (@rockytopinsider) November 5, 2017
6:30 — Southern Miss goes backward with two big penalties, and that forces the Golden Eagles to punt. UT will take over at its own seven yard line.
9:25 — Keon Howard carries up the middle on third down to move the chains. And Nigel Warrior was almost kicked out of the game for targeting after review. That would’ve been a huge loss, but the Vols catch a huge break.
10:59 — Touchdown Tennessee. Guarantano keeps on the read option, dragging a defender into the endzone from four yards out. That’s UT’s first opening possession touchdown all season. 9 plays, 49 yards in 4:01 for Tennessee’s opening possession. Guarantano was 3-for-4, 34 yards and a rushing touchdown.
14:02 — Guarantano finds Jarrett Guarantano on the left side for a first down. The makeshift offensive line has provided solid protection so far.
14:52 — The Vols get Evan Berry back tonight, and he makes his presence known. A 46-yard return sets up great field position for Tennessee’s opening possession.
