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Well, that wasn’t the prettiest of wins for Tennessee. In fact, it reminded this writer of many of the conference victories from the Phillip Fulmer era, when the Vols would use a power running game and a bend-don’t-break defense that would shut the door in the 4th quarter.
Their 20-13 decision over Texas A&M puts the Vols at 5-1 at the halfway point of the season, and still sets them up for big things in the future. Let’s look back at another special afternoon at Neyland Stadium.
Player of the Week: Dee Williams
On an afternoon in which Jaylen Wright ran for 136 yards against the 8th-best rushing defense in the nation, this award could have easily gone to the Vols junior RB.
But senior special teamer Dee Williams came up with the 2 biggest plays of the game. In the 3rd quarter with Tennessee trailing 10-7, Williams downed a punt at the half-yard line. The Aggies were only able to move the ball about 18 inches, meaning that their punter, Nik Constantinou, had little room to get a punt of his own away.
Williams caught a line drive at the 39, made some sweet moves and then sprinted into the end zone, giving the Vols a 14-10 lead that they’d never relinquish.
The Vols don’t win this game without Dee Williams.
Freshman of the Week: Chas Nimrod
With 5th-year senior WR Bru McCoy gone for the season following ankle surgery, UT knew it would need others to step up.
Chas Nimrod, who entered this game with only 1 reception, led the Vols against the Aggies in catches with 4 and receiving yards with 31. Those numbers won’t get Nimrod on the Biletnikoff Award watch list, but on a day in which the Vols only passed for 100 yards, his contribution was crucial.
Biggest surprise: Forcing late-game turnovers
As improved as the Vols might be on defense, they have underachieved in one area, and that’s forcing turnovers. Through their 1st 5 games, the Vols only collected 6 turnovers, putting them in a tie for 95th nationally.
But late in the game, the UT defense thwarted 2 potential game-winning drives thanks to INTs from Gabe Jeudy-Lally and Kamal Hadden.
Biggest concern: Penalties
Entering the Texas A&M game the Vols were 67th in the country in penalties, averaging more than 7 per game. Against the Aggies, Tennessee was penalized 12 times for 115 yards, many of those flags drive-killers for the UT offense and drive-extenders for Texas A&M.
The Vols are now in the middle of their most difficult stretch of the season. They were able to persevere versus A&M but might not be as fortunate against future opponents.
Developing trend: Neyland Stadium dominance
Once again, the Vols have one of the top home field advantages in all of college football. They’ve now won 13 games in a row at Neyland Stadium, the 4th-longest home win streak in the sport. They haven’t lost a game in Knoxville since Nov. 13, 2021 against Georgia. Tennessee has also won 7 straight games at home against SEC opponents.
The Vols have had 10 straight sellouts, which is no easy task when your capacity is 101,915. The fans were loud from the get-go against the Aggies and gave the Vols a shot in the arm when things were tight.
Key stat: 232 rushing yards
Wright says that Tennessee has the best running back room in the nation, and it’s not a ridiculous assessment.
Entering this game, the Vols were 7th in the country in rushing offense, averaging 231 yards a game. Against an Aggies defense that was giving up only 84 yards on the ground per game, the Vols ran for a whopping 232 yards. Wright, Jabari Small and Dylan Sampson combined for 203 of those yards.
With the passing game sputtering, UT leaned on its running backs, and they were up to the task.
First impression about Week 8: The Alabama Game
It’s been 12 months since the Vols shocking 52-49 win over Alabama, UT’s first such victory in 15 tries against their hated rivals. Tennessee fans have basked in the glow of what was one of the most memorable nights of football in the 100+ years of Neyland Stadium. Now, the Vols look for their 1st win in Tuscaloosa since 2003.
It appears that reports of the death of the Crimson Tide have been greatly exaggerated. Since that loss to Texas on Sept. 9, Alabama has run off 5 straight wins, and looks to be on the road to winning the SEC West.
The Crimson Tide are not nearly as dominant as their championship teams of the past, and they looked shaky in Saturday’s 24-21 win over a struggling Arkansas team. But Tennessee will be the underdogs next weekend.
Mark Nagi has covered Tennessee athletics for over 20 years. He is the author of “Decade of Dysfunction,” an in-depth look at all that led to the crazy coaching search of 2017 at Tennessee. The book is available on Amazon.
