Tennessee got the band back together in Nashville to kick off its season on Saturday against a Virginia team that hadn’t taken the field since three of its players were tragically shot and killed last year.
In the days leading up to the game, fans from far and wide were hoping for a Volunteer State tribute to the Cavaliers, and they got just that about 25 minutes before kickoff. Cheerleaders from each school took the field in tandem and laid flowers down on the ground to honor the fallen players, and the crowd was completely respectable about the tribute. It was a kind and sobering start to the football season, especially given the special sessions that took place in Music City this week.
The last time Tennessee took on Virginia was in 1991. In that game, the Vols escaped with a narrow 23-22 victory. Its first meeting with UVA was in 1927, and the final then was 42-0.
Saturday morning’s (yes, you read that right) Central-time season opener for both teams was somewhere in between those two matchups.
Tennessee came into this game as a 27.5-point favorite, and it didn’t look like that would hit early on.
The game’s pace during the initial 5 minutes was drastically different than the rest of the first half.
After Dee Williams’ gutty 34-yard return on the opening kickoff, Tennessee got right to it.
Jaylin Wright started things off with 6-yard run, and head coach Josh Heupel kept feeding the junior tailback until the Vols finally slowed down when it got inside the redzone. It was only with the slower tempo when Virginia was able to get a couple of stops. On 3rd and 7, Milton threw to the outside, but that didn’t hit. Then on 4th and 5, sophomore tailback Dylan Sampson leaked out of the backfield via a wheel route, and the offensive line gave Joe Milton enough time to make the checkdown. That did hit, and Tennessee had its first touchdown of the year.
When the Vols went fast, they looked unstoppable. When they slowed, they flailed a bit.
Senior linebacker Aaron Beasley broke up a pass on the first play, then redshirt senior Kamal Hadden had a nice breakup of his own on Virginia’s second play from scrimmage. A screen pass to Malik Washington was spoiled by a host of Vols, and the Cavaliers were forced to punt after three plays.
The Vols went for it on 4th and 1 from their own 29 with 6-5, 235 lb. Joe Milton lined up under center. With his frame, a QB sneak seemed obvious, but instead he gave to a back, who slipped and did not get the needed yard.
With 10 minutes to go in the first half, UVA took over deep in Tennessee territory and showed UT a little pace of its own. While the Cavs couldn’t get anything going on the ground, a sharp completion over the middle brought the ball around the 11-yard line.
Just when it looked like Tennessee was in for a game, Virginia managed to miss a 28-yard field goal.
The moment all Vol fans had been waiting for took place on the first play after the missed field goal. Senior wideout Ramel Keaton screamed down the hash, wide open and free, and Milton unloaded. The throw was perfect and stayed in the air for what seemed like ages, but Keaton let it slip through his fingers, and two plays later, the Vols would be forced to punt. Milton didn’t overthrow a receiver on the day, and that could bode well for the Vols moving forward. He finished the game by going 21 of 30 for 201 yards and two TDs. He also ran for a score. These are efficient numbers without Keyton’s catch, but they would have been very good with it.
Highly discussed Australian punter Jackson Ross might have had a bit of the zoomies and managed just 16 yards on his first punt as a Vol. He didn’t have a brilliant debut, but he did show flashes of the brilliance that his coaches have laid at his feet all offseason.
Virginia just couldn’t get anything going offensively; Tennessee’s D was just too good.
Williams had a good start fielding and retuning punts until he fumbled on the final play of a long first quarter. Again, Virginia couldn’t take advantage, and it was forced to give it back to the Vols.
After one of many excellent punts from Virginia’s Daniel Sparks backed Tennessee up to its own 7-yard line, senior running back Jabari Small almost broke free for what would have been a 93-yard touchdown when the turf monster grabbed his foot. It was obvious that UT was dealing with some first game malfunctions and a touch of bad luck early.
After a tough Bru McCoy catch and run was negated by a holding penalty, Tennessee got back into rhythm for the first time since its first drive. Keyton made up for his previous drop when he slowed to bucket an underthrown 42-yard completion, and the Vols were getting their groove back. Milton had an impressive stiffarm to get the Vols inside the 5, and Dylan Sampson scored his second touchdown of the first half on the next play to put Tennessee up 14-0 with just under 5 minutes to go before the break.
Cavalier quarterback Tony Muskett battled low snaps and struggled with the same slippery surface issue that Small dealt with but remained poised. To close the half, he completed a 30-yard floater to Malachi Fields and hit Washington for 17 more on the following play. Later, Muskett shot to the 13 on a third down scamper, and it was decision time for second-year UVA coach Tony Elliot.
Facing a fourth and 5 at the 13-yard line with a kicker who previously missed from a similar distance, Elliot opted for the trey, and this time Will Bettridge’s kick was true.
With just under two minutes to go in the half, the score was 14-3.
It was the best defensive half the Volunteers have had in some time, both visually and statistically. The Vols defense was more effective at advancing the ball down the field than its offense for periods of the first half. Tennessee held Virginia to minus-8 rushing yards and 65 yards total despite being in a few precarious positions in the first half.
The Vols added a quick score before the half to make the score 21-3. The game was never in question, but going into the half, there was a need to address some special-teams issues and to get some new cleats for those who had slipped in the first two quarters.
Virginia finally crossed into positive rushing yardage nine minutes into the third quarter. At that point Tennessee had outgained them 224-2 on the ground. The Cavs didn’t stop after they got on the right side of zero, though, and running backs Kobe Pace and Perris Jones took turns slicing through a mish-mash of starters and backups for Tennessee.
Virginia scored, but it was too little too late.
Notes:
– Tennessee held Virginia to negative yards in four drives.
– Tight end McCallan Castles is imposing, even from the press box. He and Jacob Warren are almost identical in stature, and each contributed in this game. If Tennessee can utilize its tight ends, the offense could add an element not seen in previous years under Heupel.
– Special teams was a spotty problem for Tennessee.
– Dee Williams played phenomenally outside of his fumble. It was somewhat fluky in nature, as two defenders convened on him to squirt the ball out. Williams will be fun to watch all season.
– Heupel praised a trio of youngsters on the defensive line in the postgame press conference. Sophomores James Pearce and Josh Joseph and true freshman Daevin Hobbs were referenced, and Heupel mentioned his optimism toward their futures.
– With 12:46 left in the contest, quarterback Nico Iamaleava came in for his first real game action. He ran for 8 yards on a scramble and narrowly missed throwing a touchdown on his first collegiate throw. His drive was completed with Sampson’s fourth TD of the contest.
– This game’s attendance of 69,507 was the largest sports crowd in Nissan Stadium history. The previous record of 49,489 was set when the Vols faced Purdue for the Music City in 2021.
