Moreover, Josh Smith (307 yards in 23 catches) and Josh Malone (405 yards in 31 receptions) are returning as part of the receiving group of the Volunteers.
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Tennessee will need the extra hours to review what went wrong in a 20-13 overtime victory over Appalachian State and prepare for the spectacle ahead this week. And the Vols coaching staff called just one pass play for Dobbs on the final scoring drive in OT. Dobbs threw the late first-half interception two plays later.
The Tennessee Volunteers take on the Appalachian Mountaineers in one of the college football games on Thursday, September 1, 2016 at 7:30 PM ET, at Neyland Stadium.
Appalachian State forged a 13-3 halftime lead, aided by three Tennessee mistakes.
Tennessee was extremely lucky to survive this game. Absolutely. And I can guarantee you this: “We will get them corrected”.
Tennessee found a way to win, by virtue of a 67-yard bomb in the fourth quarter, a fumble into the end zone for an OT touchdown, and a batted ball on 4th-and-5 to seal it. At the end of regulation, the Mountaineers had gotten the ball inside the Volunteer 40-yard line, however on a play with time winding down under 10 seconds, Lamb was not able to get out of bounds on a scramble to stop the clock. His dart into the Tennessee corner of the end zone was batted down as Maedors jumped for the ball, but Abernathy knocked it away to save the game for the Vols.
“I am just really proud of our guys”, Appalachian State coach Scott Satterfield said. “That’s all that matters”.
Cam Sutton fumbled on a punt return and Appalachian State’s Alex Gray recovered at Tennessee’s 36 to set up the first touchdown, a 5-yard keeper from Taylor Lamb barely four minutes into the game.
Hurd led the Vols with 110 yards and a score on 28 carries.
The Vols allowed only two touchdowns – one after a turnover – and less than 300 yards against an offense neither willing nor capable of challenging them deep in the passing game, but the tackling was “very poor”, head coach Butch Jones said, and Appalachian State’s combination of options, jet sweeps and misdirection plays kept the Vols off balance.
Jones said he was impressed with how the Vols approached Friday’s practice.
So there’s no reason to worry just yet Tennessee football fans. Add to it a strong offensive line as well as talented depth at the skill positions and we have reason to believe the Vols will be able to move the ball easily. Although the Hokies endured a substandard season a year ago, Foster has historically presided over one of the top defenses in the country. His 4,088 career yards rushing rank him second among all active FBS players, behind only San Diego State’s Donnel Pumphrey.
Marcus Cox was great for Appalachian State. Earlier in the fourth quarter, Hurd fumbled, but the Vols again got it back. We scored, ‘ ” Dobbs said. Did we do some things that were uncharacteristic? We saw a Vols squad with Rocky Top High expectations look like an FCS team struggling to find its way.
Does that mean that Vols are going to compete for the National Championship this season like Clemson did? Tennessee follows this game by facing Virginia Tech at Bristol Motor Speedway in a matchup expected to draw the largest recorded crowd in college football history.
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“I feel like it was a lesson learned”, Tennessee linebacker Darrin Kirkland Jr. said.
