Vanderbilt running back makes admission after win over Tennessee that will leave Vols fans feeling frustrated
Tennessee had a ill-timed penalty that changed the way the game was played against Vanderbilt in the first half.
In each of the Tennessee Vols’ four losses this season, there was a game-changing moment that changed the way the game was played.
There was the decision to go conservative and kick a field goal to go up on Georgia by eight points, which allowed the Bulldogs to tie the game (UGA would win in overtime). Against Alabama, it was the pick-six before halftime. In the loss to Oklahoma, it was a scoop-n-score that resulted in a 14 point swing.
Tennessee’s loss to Vanderbilt on Saturday in Neyland Stadium featured a similar moment. On the Commodores’ final drive before halftime, it appeared that Tennessee was going to hold Vanderbilt to a field goal after forcing an incompletion on third down (which would’ve resulted in a 21-17 lead for Tennessee at halftime).
Instead, Vols defensive back Jalen McMurray was called for roughing the passer, which gave Vanderbilt an automatic first down.
Vandy quarterback Diego Pavia threw a touchdown on the next play.
That’s a call that could go either way. We’ve seen it called at the collegiate and NFL levels and we’ve seen it not called. It just didn’t go Tennessee’s way this time.
After the game, Vanderbilt running back Sedrick Alexander admitted that the roughing the passer call gave the Commodores some much-needed momentum.
“To talk about the momentum shift, I think that was probably one of the biggest things,” said Alexander. “Once we got that, we were back on track. We were happy that [Pavia] got that [call].”
The decision to throw the flag instead of letting the hit go gave Vanderbilt some important momentum (and four extra points) heading into halftime.
Now, that’s not say that the call changed the outcome of the game — the score was essentially 0-0 going into the second half and the Vols were outscored 24-3 in the final two quarters — but it certainly helped Vanderbilt get “back on track” at a critical moment in the game.
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