Getting the locker rooms ready for both teams was the last piece for Bristol Motor Speedway crews who have spent the last three weeks transforming the speedway into a football field and stadium.
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And Tennessee raced to the checkered flag. The Vols fell behind early, trailing 14-0 at the end of the first quarter, but scored 31 points unanswered en route to its 24th consecutive victory over unranked non-conference opponents.
Volunteers’ quarterback Joshua Dobbs’ touchdown pass to wide receiver Jauan Jennings on the very next play made the score 14-7. Isaiah Ford was VA Tech’s leading receiver, hauling in 11 passes for 117 yards and a touchdown. His 40-yard run on the second play of the drive flipped the field and the momentum, reminiscent of some of his best work past year. His 100-yard performance marked the fourth of his career. 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.
Tennessee’s Micah Abernathy set a school single-game record with three fumble recoveries.
“It was an incredible experience”, Tennessee defensive back Cameron Sutton said.
The Vols return to Neyland Stadium next week to face OH as owners of an eight-game winning streak, third longest in FBS. The attendance figure dwarfed the old record of 115,109 for Notre Dame at MI in 2013.
After Peyton Manning assisted with the coin toss, the first half was simple.
And while the Vols (2-0) looked in the first quarter eerily similar to the team that almost lost to Appalachian State in their opener, they’ve discovered a deep threat in their passing game that’s been so sorely missing. The score is 14-0 Hokies with 2:48 left in the first quarter. His 23-yard touchdown reception late in the third quarter was the captain’s first touchdown of the season. On the Hokies’ next possession, running back Travon McMillian took off for a 69-yard touchdown run on a misdirection and Virginia Tech was up 14-0 with 2:48 to play in the first.
The Hogs took the ball at the top of the first overtime, and Austin Allen cashed in with a third down touchdown pass to tight end Jeremy Sprinkle. But those three wins came after the Vols had already lost three, five, and three games.
The Vols were on the board. Again they all stayed with Dustin until he was carted off to the medical area inside the speedway. Two plays later, he threw a 38-yard touchdown pass to Josh Malone to complete a four-play, 90-yard drive. At that point, the Hokies was outgaining the Volunteers 193-6.
While poor tackling was clearly the culprit on several of the gains by Dobbs and Hurd, Virginia Tech coach Justin Fuente wanted to review the game before assigning blame.
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“It’s always part of the plan, but on every run play, there’s three of four different options and reads, and I thought Josh did a good job reading and some were pre-called runs as well”, Tennessee coach Butch Jones said. All Arkansas kicker Cole Hedlund needed to do was make a 22-yard field goal.
