On the surface, it would appear that Sutton and the Vols got the better of Ford.
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After losing four games by a combined 17 points in 2015, Tennessee trailed the first two games of 2016 by a combined 24 points, but the Vols showed no signs of panic and overcame early double-digit deficits en route to the 2-0 start expected from this team. A predominantly orange-clad crowd was quiet, their team resembling a vehicle that wrecked on the first turn in the first lap.
Then the spark hit the flame. And the Vols were sputtering (or misfiring, or fill in your own NASCAR-related pun) on offense. Tennessee recovered at the Tech 5 and scored on the next play. Virginia Tech actually still outgained Tennessee for the game (400-330) but, on the track known for crashes, kept slamming itself into the wall with five fumbles.
Last season, in Frank Beamer’s swan song, the Hokies lost just seven fumbles all season.
Scoop ‘Em Up: Micah Abernathy set a Tennessee record with three fumble recoveries against Virginia Tech.
Ron Johnson was subsequently stuffed on a rush attempt, and time expired before CT could run another play.
“We turned the ball over terribly too many times and lacked discipline at other times, which is very disappointing”, said Fuente. “We’ve obviously got to do a better job either teaching or understanding or emphasizing ball security”. We knew that we were going to have to score more than 14 points in order to win this ballgame. Instead of treating big passing plays like they’re extinct, Dobbs dialed up Josh Malone for a 38-yard touchdown to tie the game at 14 and set up Alvin Kamara beautifully on a 23-yard swing pass to build a three-score lead in the third quarter.
“It definitely lived up to the hype – 156,000 is absolutely insane”, Tennessee quarterback Joshua Dobbs said after accounting for five touchdowns.
“We didn’t have a great week of practice, for whatever reason that is, I don’t know”, said Rogers, who caught three passes for 47 yards and a touchdown.
Ohio State quarterback Cardale Jones ran for 99 yards last season in the Buckeyes’ 42-24 win at Virginia Tech. “No one likes this feeling, no one likes the feeling of giving away games so we have to get that right this week”.
“I think we woke up a little bit”, head coach Butch Jones said on ESPN’s broadcast.
The Hokies were also undisciplined with penalties – flagged eight times for 101 yards, with five being the 15-yard variety, either for chop blocks, personal fouls or unsportsmanlike conduct.
Although the Hokies had some highlights, with McMillian’s 127 rushing yards chief among them, they were more than offset by the lowlights.
That didn’t cost Tech any points, although the next one did.
But the Hokies’ tendency for crippling errors helped the Vols gain traction. The Vols led the ground game with 239 yards to Tech’s 186.
“It was a matter of being patient”, he said.
“Each game we’ll look at it, and there’s going to be good stuff”.
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Suddenly, it was 14-14 with 9:42 still left in the half. In the first quarter, the Hokies offense achieved 10 first downs.
