Appalachian State exposed Tennessee: The Vols, ranked No. 9 in the polls and picked to win the SEC East, were ineffective on offense and presented nearly no downfield threat in the passing game. “They came out here and fought”. “We knew that it was going to be a great challenge”. Our program is all about effort and pride and fighting hard all the way to the end.
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RED-ZONE ISSUES: Appalachian State returns eight starters from a defence that was particularly stingy in the red zone last season.
“We’ve been fortunate and blessed in the history of our school, especially in the last 25 years, to win a lot of close games at the end”, coach Scott Satterfield of Appalachian State said. “We just want to take the win and improve from it”.
All those promises to get Kamara the ball more were unfulfilled for a night at least, and this was the first time in Dobbs’ career he was held to negative rushing yardage.
Tennessee answered with a 15-play, 70-yard drive that ended with a 23-yard Aaron Medley field goal to pull within 7-3.
The Mountaineers’ Marcus Cox dominated the first half, rushing for 31 yards on his first three carries.
“When they dropped the punt, we just went right into our plays and went down there and scored”, junior quarterback Taylor Lamb said. Josh Pasley, who missed a 24-yard field goal earlier, missed the extra point.
In another SEC game Thursday, Elliott Fry kicked a career-long 55-yard field goal with 35 seconds left, and SC rallied from a 10-point halftime deficit to beat Vanderbilt 13-10 in Will Muschamp’s debut as head coach.
It’s only fair to raise these broader, big-picture concerns – the same worries and issues that have plagued the program almost throughout Jones’ tenure, most notably during those multiple fourth-quarter collapses a season ago.
The Mountaineers (0-1) had two chances to break the tie in the closing minutes, flipping the field with a 45-yard punt return from Jaquil Capel, but redshirt freshman kicker Michael Rubino missed a 42-yard field goal attempt with 5:30 left.
The Mountaineers had a shot to win the game in regulation but it ended thanks to some terrible clock management. Unfortunate ball bounces found their way back to Tennessee to give them what would become the winning score. Before crossing the plane, Mountaineer linebacker Kennan Gilchrist stopped Dobbs in midair and forced a fumble.
The only time Tennessee led was when Hurd managed to pounce on the loose ball. As a group, the Vols lined up opposite numerous best defenses in college #Football. I’m proud of our players.
No one should argue against high-profile matchups in the nonconference schedule – they are good for the sport – but the little guys remain part of the overall picture. “I think we moved the ball well”.
One thing is for certain: The Mountaineers competed all four quarters and overtime with a top ten team in the country and should not be overlooked. Hurd’s touchdown stood up when Micah Abernathy knocked down a fourth-down pass on Appalachian State’s ensuing possession. The Mountaineers were driving, but poor clock management never allowed Appalachian State to get in field position, falling just short at the 30-yard line as the game clock expired, forcing overtime.
“Did we do some things that were uncharacteristic?”
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Ninth-ranked Tennessee has been projected as a possible player in the national championship picture. We’ll continue to do that, but we have to do a better job with it. Credit them, they’re a good football team. We will learn from this loss.
