It didn’t take long for Tennessee to show its superiority over UConn on Saturday.
The game kicked off three minutes after noon and just around three minutes of real time later, Tennessee was on the board.
Junior tailback Jaylen Wright started the onslaught with an 82-yard dash up the middle and the Vols were off to the races. It was Wright’s second run of over 80 yards during his time on Rocky Top (the previous occasion was against Vanderbilt last season).
After UT’s defense forced a three-and-out*, star punt returner Dee Williams got a rare opportunity to return a punt with some room. UConn’s special teams answered the call, though, and Williams was held to just six yards on the return.
After some back and forth, UConn got it going with its second offensive drive. Quarterback Ta’Quan Roberson hit a perfectly set up screen pass to running back Cam Edwards for 17 yards on third and long deep in their own territory. Then the Huskies got tricky with a double pass that ended up in the hands of Brett Buckman. The play went for 34 yards to get the Huskies into field goal range. After a handful of penalties against the Vols, UCONN settled for a kick and with 2:47 to go in the opening stanza, Tennessee led 7-3.
After a couple more solid runs from Wright, Joe Milton threw a 60-yard bomb to senior wideout Ramel Keaton on the Vols next drive. The receiver was so open that it appeared that the officials had blown the play dead. It was the longest reception of his career and his fourth touchdown on the season.
The secondary has struggled mightily of late and it gave up a few big plays against the Huskies, but played better for the most part. This matchup doesn’t provide the most accurate forecast for the future, but the Vols back end didn’t get lost very often on Saturday and it tackled much better. This was most evident on a 4th down chance for UConn when Tamarion McDonald made a fantastic open field tackle to create a turnover on downs with just over ten minutes to go in the first half.
The Vols stayed up-tempo on the ensuing drive and Wright went over 100 yards a couple plays in. It’s the sixth time he’s reached the century mark this season.
This was Joe Milton’s drive, though.
Milton threw perhaps the best slant of his career to junior receiver Dont’e Thornton Jr. for a 27-yard gain and three plays later, he hit tight end McCallan Castles for another 15.
Milton capped the drive with a 6-yard scamper and the Vols were up 21-3 with 7:25 left in the second quarter.
This drive perhaps exhibited the best use of the middle of the field in Milton’s career. Utilizing the areas between the hashes changes everything and Tennessee’s chance to finish 9-3 greatly improves if that becomes more frequent.
UConn refused to quit, though.
With pressure in his face, Roberson beat the blitz* with a lob to Juston Joly for 31 yards on the Huskies next drive.
Connecticut has some players. Tailback Victor Rosa made a fantastic, one-handed catch in the first half as well and Joly had 78 yards on six grabs in the first half alone. He finished the game with 89 yards on eight grabs.
The second half started promptly with Tennessee’s second defensive score. Jaylon McCollough picked off Roberson from 30 yards out and housed it to make the spread 42-3 just eight seconds into the quarter.
There was only one question remaining: When do we see Nico (Iamaleava)*?
In order for viewers to see Nico, though, Tennessee’s offense would have to see the field, and Aaron Beasley was having none of that. For the second drive in a row, Tennessee got a pick-six when Beasley stepped in front of a Roberson throw and scored from 39 yards away.
Then, finally, with 9:51 to go in the third quarter and the score at 49-3, Iamaleava crossed the thick white line to take the field.
Rumors have run amuck over previous weeks that Dee Williams could get an opportunity to get an offensive series or two, and fans finally got that chance to see it with this drive. Williams took a shovel pass on a jet sweep and gained 11 yards on his first play and got open a couple more times on his drive.
It would make sense to build a package for Williams against Missouri or Georgia, as those much more meaningful matchups will ultimately decide the narrative of Josh Heupel’s third year as head coach of the Vols. It might have made more sense to save him for those contests, but now each team will have to prepare for it. Six in one. Half a dozen in the other.
Iamaleava led a strong drive with both his feet and his arm and notched his first TD as a Vol in the process. Seeing he and Williams on the field at the same time was a treat, but it was a pass across the middle to Castles that resulted in a 19-yard touchdown. He had a run of 25 that ended with a stumble on the drive as well.
Tennessee’s defense played much better despite allowing 200 total yards in the first half and trailing in time of possession by a large margin once again (38 minutes for UConn to 22 minutes for the Vols).
Tennessee has slowed its pace at times over the last handful of games and has done so with success. The slower pace has allowed Tennessee’s defense time to get a blow and as a result, the Vols pass rush has been less bushed, but that was not the case in this one.
Tennessee did what it was supposed to do with UConn and avoided injury to boot. It faces Missouri in Columbia next weekend in a game that will most likely decide if the Vols finish the regular season at 8-4 or 9-3.
Noteworthy items
– The defense’s dominance was highlighted by three big plays. The first was a Tyler Baron 24-yard fumble recovery touchdown late in the second quarter. The fumble was caused by transfer Gabe Jeudy-Lally. Jaylon McCollough and Aaron Beasley each added pick-sixes of their own. This was the first time Tennessee scored three defensive TDs in program history. It’s the Vol’s first game with two pick-sixes since September 7th, 2013 when it played Western Kentucky.
– Milton has thrown a touchdown in 13 consecutive games. This ties Tony Robinson for the third longest streak in program history. He finished the game 11-14 for 254 yards and two passing touchdowns. He added a rushing score, as well.
– Extra points have become extraordinarily, temporarily, very dangerous plays for the Vols. Following almost every score for the Vols, a Tennessee lineman writhes (seemingly) in pain on the ground. He then slowly makes his way to the sideline after a few minutes of rest, only to get back out there on the next offensive series. One can’t help but wonder if the Vols extra point unit will be presenting any material at Film Fest Knox, a new film festival set to take place next weekend.
– Dylan Sampson was not needed in this contest and finished with 28 yards on five carries. Cameron Seldon and Patrick Wilk combined for 68 yards on eight carries. Ten players got a carry on the contest.
– Four quarterbacks saw action in the game. Iamaleava completed five of nine passes for 86 yards and a touch while Gaston Moore went four of seven for 36 yards and Navy Shuler completed his only pass.
– Departing UConn fans had a parting shot to local man about town Brendon James Wright on the way out of the stadium. “Wait until basketball season,” they said. He responded, “You sure about that?” Tennessee looks solid in both the womens and mens side of the court this year. Blank’s basketball coverage has already begun. Stay plugged in to blank.news all year for coverage. We try to post our stories within minutes of each game’s completion.
– The alumni band took part in the festivities today. Former members of the Pride of the Southland Band participated and the ages ranged from around 25-60 and perhaps even beyond.
Beginner’s guide
If you’re new to football or you have a partner who loves it, this is for you. Lingo and abbreviations are a big part of the game and it can be easy to get left behind and become numb to the whole thing, so we’re going to be explaining some things with our coverage of the Vols in 2024, both on the gridiron (football field) and the hardcourt (basketball).
This is a test run, if you will.
* A three and out means that a team runs three plays but does not achieve the ten yards needed to get a new set of downs and punts the ball to the other team as a result.
*2 – Beating the blitz means throwing towards the space that is vacated by a blitzing defender. If a cornerback blitz’s towards the quarterback, the receiver he would normally cover is often open, unless the defensive team has a zone coverage that covers the space he left.
*3 – When you hear Vol followers mention “Nico,” they are most likely not referencing The Velvet Underground. Nope, this is the case of Nico Iamaleava (pronounced “ee-ah-MAH-LAY-ah-va), the program’s most highly touted quarterback in decades. He is the future of the Vols program and the Tennessee faithful have been anxiously awaiting the unveiling of his talents.
