A Cougar escape… Vols suffer double-overtime defeat after BYU rallies in final seconds

Published 12:02 am Tuesday, September 10, 2019

By Ivan Sanders

 
BY IVAN SANDERS
STAR SPORTS EDITOR
KNOXVILLE – The Tennessee Volunteers were primed to pick up their first win of the season Saturday when they played host to the BYU Cougars from Provo, Utah 
 
With the clocking showing less than 35 seconds to play and the Vols leading 16-13, everyone in Neyland Stadium knew exactly what needed to happen – stop the Cougars on a third down and long playing out of the loudest end in the stadium and make sure the stop was in bounds and the game would be over as the visitors had no timeouts left.
 
But someone forgot to tell BYU that as quarterback Zach Wilson found Micah Simon who had somehow slipped past Vol defensive back Alontae Taylor for a 64-yard strike to the Tennessee 16-yard line to set up the potential game-tying field goal.
Cougar placekicker Jake Oldroyd put a good foot on the ball and the game was tied at 16-16 heading into overtime.
Tennessee won the coin flip and elected to go on defense in the first overtime.
It would take BYU three plays to find the end zone as Wilson continued to perform at a high level connecting with Talon Shumway on a 14-yard scoring strike. Oldroyd booted the point-after and the Cougars led 23-16 with the Vols getting set to take possession.
With the Vols facing a critical third and 10, Jarrett Guarantano rifled a pass toward Jauan Jennings who used his strong hands to pull the football out of the hands of a BYU defender for a 13-yard touchdown reception.
Brent Cimaglia blasted the all-important point after through the uprights to send the game to the second overtime tied at 23-all.
The Vols took possession first in the second overtime and after only managing to pick up two yards in three plays, Coach Jeremy Pruitt elected to kick the field goal.
Cimaglia remained perfect on the season as he was straight down the middle to give the Vols a 26-23 lead. It was Cimaglia’s sixth field goal in two games.
Tennessee needed to make a stop if they were to win the game but BYU ran the ball three straight times and senior Ty’Son Williams ended the game with a five-yard run that gave the Cougars the 29-26 victory.
“That was a great football game,” said Pruitt after the contest. “We obviously came out on the wrong end of it. It’s a tough one to swallow.
“It’s hard to figure out how you lost that game and then you start thinking about it and there were two fourth and ones that we don’t get. We have two guys running open right before the half for touchdowns that we don’t hit and settle for a field goal.
“Then we turn the ball over in the red area and don’t get a turnover. We have one turnover in two weeks and then give up a 70-yard play with 15 seconds left on the clock. It’s hard to figure that one out.”
“We will go back and coach them up and get them where they understand situations better and we have got to execute,” Pruitt continued. “I will say this. There were some guys that were fighting out there on both sides of the ball. It was a competitive game and we didn’t make the breaks there at the end.”
The Vols end their three-game homestand to begin the season on Saturday when they play host to the Chattanooga Mocs looking to get into the win column before heading to the Swamp to open the SEC season against Florida.
Game time will be 12 noon.
Scoring breakdown
First Quarter
4:53     UT – Jauan Jennings 5 yd pass from Jarrett Guarantano (Brent Cimaglia  kick)
  :19      BYU – Jake Oldroyd 31 yd field goal
Second Quarter
6:22     UT – Brent Cimaglia 51 yd field goal
  :21      UT – Brent Cimaglia 39 yd field goal
Third Quarter
12:47    BYU – Ty’Son Williams 16 yd run (Jake Oldroyd kick)
Fourth Quarter
11:41     UT – Brent Cimaglia 22 yd field goal
 7:18     BYU – Jake Oldroyd 42 yd field goal
 0:01     BYU – Jake Oldroyd 33 yd field goal
First Overtime
BYU – Talon Shumway 14 yd pass from Zach Wilson
UT – Jauan Jennings 13 yd pass from Jarrett Guarantano
UT – Brent Cimaglia 40 yd field goal
BYU – Ty’son Williams 5 yd run
 
BYU, 29-26
BYU – 3   0   7   6   7   6 – 29
UT –   7   6   0   3   7   3 – 26
 
Team Stats
                                                    BYU                       UT
First downs                                     18                           20
Yards Rushing                               107                         242
Rushing Attempts                          30                          49
Yards Passing                               232                         176
Comp/Att/I                                 19-30-0                17-28-1
Total Offense                                339                         418
Punts                                            6-262                      3-137
Punt Avg.                                       43.7                        45.7
Time of Possession                    26:01                       33:59
Penalties                                       7-63                         6-50
Sacks                                              1-6                           4-18

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