The turning point of the game came when Abernathy recovered a fumble on the Virginia Tech 5 in the opening play of the second quarter.
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After a lackluster start to its season, will Tennessee light up Virginia Tech tonight at 8:00PM ET at Bristol Motor Speedway?
However, a fumble in the second quarter by Virginia Tech changed the momentum. It featured a sports desk with a number of guest speakers who discussed the game and what they expect.
Fuente on the penalties: “At times, we lacked discipline out there, which is very disappointing”. Roughing the passer, cut blocks, pass interference and unsportsmanlike conduct. The question was general – “Why are we so bad?!” – but the feeling was more specific.
As expected, the game was played in front of a record 156,990 people. Five plays later Dobbs scored on a third down draw play from 5 yards out to pull the Volunteers ahead 24-14 lead at the break. Dobbs turned that into a touchdown pass to Jauan Jennings. And in the first quarter, Tennessee having stage fright was the best of all possible options in your head. Running back Jalen Hurd accounted for 110 of the 127 rushing yards – almost 100 fewer than Tennessee’s average in 2015 – and is sure to attraction plenty of attention from Virginia Tech’s opportunistic defense. After a Mook Reynolds interception appeared to give the Hokies the ball near midfield, they were backed up 25 yards for a block in the back and an unsportsmanlike conduct call on Reynolds. Chants of, “Let’s go, Hokies” and, “It’s great to be a Tennessee Volunteer” circled the campgrounds placed outside of the Bristol Speedway racetrack.
The night was, in many instances, a spectacle.
The artificial-turf field was immaculate, its paint job Royal College of Art-caliber.
Tennessee’s offense appeared to struggle moving the ball all night, but they made the crucial plays when needed.
Binoculars? Try the Hubble Telescope.
Brag to your crew back home that you witnessed history, but rest assured they had a better view, even if the flatscreen failed and they brought the black-and-white console in from the garage. The Hokies had one first down. “The atmosphere was incredible”, he said.
Arkansas was seemingly set Fort Worth and beat No. 15 TCU. That was a big thing for us coming and how we were going to go through it as a team. Two minutes later, Travon McMillian broke loose for a 69-yard run and suddenly Tennessee was down 14-0 in the first quarter. It lost seven all of last season.
Here are the three biggest takeaways from the Vols win over the Hokies.
An obvious prerequisite is holding onto the ball.
The crowd was entertained before the game and at halftime and the two teams, playing for the first time in the regular season since 1937, wound up carrying their end of the bargain as well.
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“The seniors have a lot of work”, Ekanem said, “just getting this team going in the right direction”.
