UT Football: The biggest play of the year for the Tennessee Vols
The Tennessee Vols' 2019 season had an expected outcome, but it took an unexpected route to get there. Plenty of folks, including myself, had the Vols finishing with a 7-5 record, which they did. But no one, at least that I'm aware of, had Tennessee losing the first two games of the season and starting […]
The Tennessee Vols' 2019 season had an expected outcome, but it took an unexpected route to get there.
Plenty of folks, including myself, had the Vols finishing with a 7-5 record, which they did.
But no one, at least that I'm aware of, had Tennessee losing the first two games of the season and starting with a 1-4 record to get to 7-5.
College football. Wild, huh?
There were plenty of big plays that helped Tennessee finish the regular season on a surprising five game winning streak.
But the biggest play of the year was the Vols' stop on fourth down against Kentucky in early November.
At the time, the Vols were 4-5. They had some momentum after beating Mississippi State, South Carolina and UAB (with a loss to Alabama sandwiched in there).
But momentum can be quickly stifled. And a loss to the Wildcats would've put the Vols in a must-win situation against their final two opponents (Missouri and Vanderbilt). A win against Kentucky, however, would alleviate some of the pressure for Tennessee and put them in a situation where they needed to win only one of their final two games to reach bowl eligibility.
This was a big game for the Vols. Everyone knew it. And things didn't get off to a good start for Tennessee.
The Wildcats jumped out to an early 13-0 first quarter lead against the Vols. For a second straight season, it looked like Tennessee had run out of gas in November.
But two third quarter touchdown passes from Jarrett Guarantano gave the Vols the lead. The Vols were able to hold onto the lead through a scoreless fourth quarter that culminated with a game saving fourth down stop on the goal line with under two minutes to play in the game (and with Tennessee out of timeouts).
This was a perfect play call with absolutely perfect execution. Defensive back Nigel Warrior is able to eliminate the pitch and then linebacker Daniel Bituli and defensive lineman Ja'Quain Blakley were able to stop quarterback Lynn Bowden at the line of scrimmage.
After the ball was turned over on downs, Guarantano picked up a first down on a 10 yard run, essentially sealing the game for the Vols.
The fourth down play was enormous for a couple of reasons. Obviously it allowed Tennessee to win the game, but it also felt like a major turning point for the Vols.
This was a situation where teams would typically "burn" Tennessee in the past. The Vols have been in similar situations many times and it usually doesn't go the Vols' way.
But in this moment, we saw a team that was prepared and well coached. And they rose to the occasion. Not only did that play give the players on the field some confidence moving forward, it also gave UT fans confidence that Jeremy Pruitt can finally be the coach who helps Tennessee turn the corner.
There were plenty of big plays for the Vols in 2019, but none of them were bigger than the fourth down stop in Lexington.
Featured image via Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports
