![]() You’re going to win those games, so the challenge is to be the best you can be in that kind of situation. When you’re playing Ball State, the mission isn’t just to win. They did precisely what was required, and not one ounce more. The Vols made several messes - many of them inexplicable messes - but they cleaned them up in time to win the game. Tennessee did what was required to beat a really tough Pitt team on its own yard. Good teams find ways to win when they don’t play their best or even anywhere near their best. You needn’t an advanced degree in mathematics to calculate the importance of those three points in the long run. When Tennessee went backward on the business end a fourth-quarter drive, senior kicker Chase McGrath bailed out his team with a 51-yard field goal that extended the lead to 27-20 with 8:57 left. When senior safety Trevon Flowers had to overcome a couple of brutally tough mistakes and the game was on the line, he sacked Patti for a loss to 12 yards to setup a fourth-and-goal from the 20-yard line. When Tillman needed to make big catches to win the game, he made them. When Hooker needed to make big throws to win the game, he made them. When Tennessee on an existential level needed to make plays, it made them. Vols' Hendon Hooker with QBs coach Joey Halzle (Photo: Charles LeClaire, USA TODAY Sports) Those losses turned what could have been a double-digit number of dubs into a 7-6 record. As Josh Heupel and several of his veteran players said after the game, this was exactly the kind of close game that quality opposition that Tennessee lost several times last year. Both Pitt players were out of bounds by no more than a few millimeters.ĭespite all of that and then some, the Vols won the game. The Vols also caught breaks when replay reviews (correctly) overturned an interception and a big catch for the Panthers late in the first half and in overtime. ![]() And Pitt capitalized on just enough of those mistakes to force extra football. Pitt could scarcely move the ball in the second half, but Tennessee kept giving the Panthers chance after chance after chance to try. ![]() String-bean freshman third-stringer Nate Yarnell was warmed up and ready to take the field on several occasions. Patti took a bevy of body blows, as well, and had to be helped off the field more than once. That backup quarterback (senior Nick Patti) entered the game to open the third quarter after the Vols spent the first half obliterating senior starter Kedon Slovis with a silly number of huge hits. Some offensive penalties wiped away big plays, including an 18-yard Hooker touchdown run in overtime.Īt times, it almost seemed like Tennessee was trying to lose a game against a team playing with a backup quarterback whose leg was so sore he could barely move. Senior wide receiver Cedric Tillman dropped a few passes he almost never drops. Senior quarterback Hendon Hooker missed throws he usually doesn’t miss. Then they muffed a punt in the fourth quarter, setting up another short field that the Panthers pounced on to tie the game with 2 minutes, 23 seconds left in regulation. They missed multiple opportunities to blow open the game in the third quarter, when they lost a fumble, had a punt blocked and came away with nothing on a possession that started in Pitt territory. The Vols dropped three interceptions and missed many opportunities for big plays on offense in the first half. Tennessee was perilously close to a 17-0 deficit in the opening minutes against the Panthers. We didn’t know what after the season-opening rout of a bad Ball State team, and we don’t know that after Saturday’s glass case of emotion in the riverside venue formerly known as Heinz Field. Is Tennessee a good football team? We don’t know. 3: Every win - let alone a win on the road against a ranked team - should be celebrated. 1: If Tennessee plays the rest of the season the way it played at Pitt, the Vols will lose at least five games. Let’s walk and talk and chew gum at the same time and be crystal clear about three things. Tennessee’s staggering succession of self-inflicted wounds forced what should have been at least a two-touchdown win into overtime, but the Vols outplayed the Panthers in that extra period and escaped with a 31-24 win. The 24th-ranked Vols left Acrisure Stadium with a win over 17th-ranked Pitt. ![]() Tennessee junior O-lineman Javontez Spraggins (Photo: Caitie McMekin, Knoxville News Sentinel) It could be argued - with reason - that Tennessee on Saturday played about as badly as a team can play and still beat a ranked team on the road. One of those things: Never apologize for any win on any field at any time for any reason. PITTSBURGH - Much of life is lived in some shade of gray, but some things really are black and white.
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