Tennessee football earned a 20-13 victory over Texas A&M at Neyland Stadium on Saturday afternoon. The Vols’ offense struggled but their defense picked them up in the victory.
Here are five critical moments in Tennessee’s win against Texas A&M.
Tennessee’s Scoring Zone Struggles Begin
Tennessee’s scoring zone struggles really began on its second drive when Heupel rolled the dice and went for it on fourth-and-two at the Texas A&M 18-yard line.
The Vols ran inside and Texas A&M’s defensive front blew it up for a loss. It kept Tennessee down 7-0 in the first quarter and set the tone for the rest of the day.
Tennessee moved the ball well to mid field but once they got there they didn’t often capitalize with points. It was the theme of the game and started in the first quarter.
Dee Williams Special Teams Heroics
I wrote all about this sequence here so I’ll spare some of the details in this section and point you to that story, but a player who doesn’t play on offense or defense completely changed the game with two special teams plays.
First, Williams pinned a Jackson Ross punt at the one-yard line to back Texas A&M up in its own end zone. Tennessee’s defense did its job holding the Aggies at the one-yard line before punting.
Williams did what he did best. Fielding the punt at Texas A&M’s 39-yard line and returning it for a touchdown. It gave Tennessee its first lead of the game— one it never relinquished. With Tennessee’s offense struggling, the special teams touchdown was integral.
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A Massive Red Zone Stop
Here’s a sneaky sequence in the game that’s easy forget. Right after Williams’ punt return, the Aggies’ offense put together one of their best drives of the game.
After just four plays, Texas A&M had first-and-10 at the Tennessee 11-yard line. The Aggies made a critical mistake on first down when Max Johnson turned the wrong way for a handoff and lost four yards.
Tennessee capitalized by getting off the field and holding Texas A&M to a short field goal. It preserved the Vols’ lead and momentum they gained from the Williams housed punt return.
Bond Wide Left From 50 Yards
Texas A&M’s offense had little success in the second half but they threatened one more time after the previously mentioned field goal drive.
After Joe Milton’s backbreaking red zone interception early in the fourth quarter, Texas A&M drove across midfield with help from a pair of Tennessee penalties.
The Aggies had third-and-four at the Tennessee 31-yard line. A conversion would comfortably move them into field goal range but James Pearce Jr, playing in coverage, made a good tackle on a drag rout for a one-yard loss.
Randy Bond’s 50-yard field goal attempt would have reclaimed the lead but it sailed wide left. The Aggies never crossed midfield again as the missed field goal proved to be their last scoring opportunity.
Jaylen Wright Gets Tennessee Some Breathing Room
Tennessee’s offense finally provided its defense a little bit of breathing room on the ensuing drive. After Milton’s poor interception, the Vols turned to their top offensive option in running back Jaylen Wright.
Milton ran for 14 yards on a speed option to open the drive. Then Wright ran seven times for 33 yards to get Tennessee deep in Texas A&M’s territory.
An offensive face mask took a seven-yard Wright red zone run off the board and effectively ended Tennessee’s hopes of scoring a touchdown. But the drive was good enough to get well within Charles Campbell’s range. The transfer kicker hit from 31 yards and forced Texas A&M to score a touchdown and not a field goal to beat them.
The Aggies hadn’t found the end zone since their first drive. They wouldn’t again.
One Response
I’m not sure Tennessee won the game against A&M or the Aggies just screwed up enough to give it to us. Milton plays with a lot of heart, he’s a tough kid, but he just not very good. He’s late identifying open receivers, and has no accuracy throwing a deep ball. The first year offensive coordinator should be replaced. With A&M’s pass rush did we throw even one screen pass? Our wide receivers now that Bru is out, aside from White and the TE’s are worthless. Where is Thornton? A “big” transfer that we can’t even remember if he was on the field. Unfortunately there is no help coming, this is it for the rest of this year, they’ve had plenty of time to get their act together and it appears this is as good as it’s going to get. Alabama, Kentucky, Georgia, and Missouri coming up – they way each of them are playing that looks like four losses. Hope I’m wrong.