Vols defensive effort leads way past Aggies
Published 2:45 pm Tuesday, October 17, 2023
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders Tennessee running back Dylan Sampson powers past a Texas A&M defensive back.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders Aggie quarterback Max Johnson is hit by Vols Leo back James Pearce, Jr. as he attempts to get a pass off.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders Eric Berry was recognized at halftime of Saturday's game for being inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders Jabari Small works his way toward the checkerboard end zone in the first half of Saturday's contest against Texas A&M.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders Vols tight end Jacob Warren takes a pass from quarterback Joe Milton into the end zone against the Aggies.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders Tyler Baron (9) of Tennessee sacks Texas A&M quarterback Max Johnson for a loss.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders Max Johnson throws the football before being sandwiched between Vol defenders Tyler Baron (9) and defensive tackle Kurott Garland (99).
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders Eric Berry is all smiles as he is recognized at halftime of Saturday's game for being inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders Punt returner Dee Williams races to the end zone on a thrilling punt return for a touchdown that turned the momentum back to Tennessee's side of the field.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders Gabe Jeudy-Lally returns the football after picking off a Max Johnson pass that helped Tennessee win the game against Texas A&M.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders Vol quarterback Joe Milton III takes off with the football on a called quarterback run.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders A face mask penalty against Tennessee defender Roman Harrison on Aggie quarterback Max Johnson helped the visitors secure a much needed first down after being pinned near their own end zone.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders Tennessee running back Jaylen Wright uses the blocking of Jacob Warren to pick up extra yardage.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders Vol running back Jaylen Wright leaps over top of Aggie defender Josh DeBerry.
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STAR CORRESPONDENT
KNOXVILLE- For once, a Josh Heupel-led Tennessee Volunteer team had to rely on its defense to pull out an SEC victory over the visiting Texas A&M Aggie team on a blustery Saturday afternoon inside Neyland Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Tennessee had two sacks and two interceptions at key times in the contest to down Coach Jimbo Fisher’s team by a 20-13 score in a game that the Vols didn’t lead in until late in the third quarter.
The Aggies came to play as they seized the first lead of the contest at the 8:29 mark of the first quarter when quarterback Max Johnson dove into the end zone on a scramble for a 7-0 lead after Randy Bond’s point-after attempt was good.
Tennessee’s offense managed to even the score just before the quarter ended when quarterback Joe Milton III found Knoxville native Jacob Warren for the score after the tight end took the pass and found his way to the checkerboard end zone.
Charles Campbell blasted the point-after through the uprights and the game was tied at 7-7.
After a back-and-forth second quarter where neither offense could find any footing, the Aggies re-took the lead on Bond’s 41-yard field goal with 5:56 remaining before the half.
The first half would end with the same score as neither team had anything to write home about offensively.
Needing a spark in a bad way, Vols specialist Dee Williams downed a Jackson Ross punt dead at the Aggie one-yard line, where the Tennessee defense dug in its heels and forced the Aggies into a three-and-out.
On the punt, A&M punter Nik Constantinou put little foot into the punt, which was fielded by Williams at the 39-yard line of Texas A&M and Williams did the rest as he zigged and zagged his way to the end zone for a 14-10 Vol lead after Campbell’s boot was true.
Texas A&M continued to play aggressively and pulled to within one, 14-13, with 3:15 remaining as Bond converted a 24-yard field goal after the Aggies completed a 68-yard drive on eight plays to set up the field goal.
The Vols got some breathing room with 3:48 left to play when Campbell knocked a 31-yard field goal through the uprights to push the lead to four for Tennessee, 17-13.
An interception by Tennessee cornerback Gabe Jeudy-Lally with 3:25 left to play put the Vols in excellent field position, but the offense was unable to push the ball into the end zone as Campbell was called upon once again and converted a 24-yard field goal with 54 seconds remaining to play in the ball game.
The Aggies had one final chance to either tie or win the football game but an interception by Kamal Hadden sealed the visitor’s fate as the Vols ran their season record to 5-1 (2-1 SEC) while Texas A&M fell to 4-2 (2-2 SEC).
UP NEXT
Tennessee hits the road next weekend, facing Alabama at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa on Saturday. CBS will televise the contest at 3:30 p.m. ET.
Team Statistics
| Statistic | TAM | TEN |
| FIRST DOWNS | ||
| Total | 17 | 20 |
| Rushing | 4 | 10 |
| Passing | 9 | 7 |
| Penalty | 4 | 3 |
| RUSHING | ||
| Total (Net) | 54 | 232 |
| Attempts | 28 | 49 |
| Avg. Per Rush | 1.9 | 4.7 |
| Rushing TDs | 1 | 0 |
| Yds. Gained | 87 | 261 |
| Yds. Lost | 33 | 29 |
| PASSING | ||
| Total (Net) | 223 | 100 |
| Comp.-Att.-Int. | 16-34-2 | 11-22-1 |
| Avg. / Att. | 6.6 | 4.5 |
| Avg. / Comp. | 13.9 | 9.1 |
| TDs | 0 | 1 |
| TOTAL OFFENSE | ||
| Yards | 277 | 332 |
| Plays | 62 | 71 |
| Avg. / Play | 4.5 | 4.7 |
| Fumbles – Lost | 1-0 | 1-0 |
| Penalties – Yds. | 11-90 | 12-115 |
| PUNTING | ||
| Punts – Yds. | 4-128 | 3-120 |
| Avg. / Punt | 32 | 40 |
| Inside 20 | 0 | 2 |
| 50+ Yds. | 0 | 0 |
| Touchbacks | 0 | 0 |
| Fair Catch | 2 | 1 |
| KICKOFFS | ||
| Total – Yds. | 4-260 | 5-325 |
| Avg. Yds. / Kickoff | 65.0 | 65.0 |
| Touchbacks | 3 | 4 |
| RETURNS | ||
| Punt: Total – Yds. – TDs | 0-0-0 | 1-39-1 |
| Punt: Avg. / Return | 0 | 39.0 |
| Kickoff: Total – Yds. – TDs | 1-23-0 | 1-19-0 |
| Kickoff: Avg. / Return | 23.0 | 19.0 |
| INT: Total – Yds. – TDs | 1-16-0 | 2-41-0 |
| Fumble: Total – Yds. – TDs | 0-0-0 | 0-0-0 |
| MISCELLANEOUS | ||
| Misc. Yards | 0 | 0 |
| Poss. Time | 30:48 | 29:12 |
| 3rd. Down Conv. | 5 of 15 | 7 of 15 |
| 4th. Down Conversions | 0 of 2 | 0 of 2 |
| Red-Zone: Scores – Chances | 3-3 | 3-5 |
| Sacks: Total – Yds. | 3-16 | 2-16 |
| PAT: Total – Made | 1-1 | 2-2 |
| 2PT Conversion: Total – Made | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Field Goals: Total – Made | 2-3 | 2-3 |
Offensive
TAM – Passing
| Player | Cmp | Att. | Yds. | TD | INT | Long | Sack |
| Johnson,Max | 16 | 34 | 223 | 0 | 2 | 29 | 2 |
| Totals | 16 | 34 | 223 | 0 | 2 | 29 | 2 |
TEN – Passing
| Player | Cmp | Att. | Yds. | TD | Int. | Long | Sack |
| Milton III,Joe | 11 | 22 | 100 | 1 | 1 | 17 | 3 |
| Totals | 11 | 22 | 100 | 1 | 1 | 17 | 3 |
TAM – Rushing
| Player | Att. | Gain | Loss | Net | TD | Lg. | Avg. |
| Moss,Le’Veon | 15 | 63 | 1 | 62 | 0 | 19 | 4.1 |
| Owens,Rueben | 5 | 16 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 9 | 3.2 |
| TEAM | 1 | 0 | 2 | -2 | 0 | 0 | -2.0 |
| Johnson,Max | 7 | 8 | 30 | -22 | 1 | 6 | -3.1 |
| Totals | 28 | 87 | 33 | 54 | 1 | 19 | 1.9 |
TEN – Rushing
| Player | Att. | Gain | Loss | Net | TD | Lg. | Avg. |
| Wright,Jaylen | 19 | 139 | 3 | 136 | 0 | 23 | 7.2 |
| Small,Jabari | 12 | 42 | 0 | 42 | 0 | 11 | 3.5 |
| Milton III,Joe | 8 | 50 | 16 | 34 | 0 | 19 | 4.3 |
| Sampson,Dylan | 9 | 30 | 5 | 25 | 0 | 12 | 2.8 |
| Mincey,Gerald | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 |
| TEAM | 1 | 0 | 5 | -5 | 0 | 0 | -5.0 |
| Totals | 49 | 261 | 29 | 232 | 0 | 23 | 4.7 |
TAM – Receiving
| Player | Rec. | Yds. | TD | Long |
| Thomas,Noah | 3 | 75 | 0 | 29 |
| Stewart,Evan | 4 | 48 | 0 | 21 |
| Wright,Max | 3 | 26 | 0 | 20 |
| Smith,Ainias | 1 | 20 | 0 | 20 |
| Moss,Le’Veon | 1 | 19 | 0 | 19 |
| Owens,Rueben | 1 | 13 | 0 | 13 |
| Muhammad III,Moose | 2 | 11 | 0 | 8 |
| Johnson,Jake | 1 | 11 | 0 | 11 |
| Totals | 16 | 223 | 0 | 29 |
TEN – Receiving
| Player | Rec. | Yds. | TD | Long |
| Nimrod,Chas | 4 | 31 | 0 | 11 |
| White,Squirrel | 3 | 29 | 0 | 17 |
| Castles,McCallan | 2 | 24 | 0 | 13 |
| Sampson,Dylan | 1 | 9 | 0 | 9 |
| Warren,Jacob | 1 | 7 | 1 | 7 |
| Thornton Jr.,Dont’e | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Keyton,Ramel | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 11 | 100 | 1 | 17 |
