Tennessee snapped its six-game losing streak on Saturday night, defeating Vanderbilt 42-17 to win its first game since Oct. 3.
“I’m proud of our guys,” Vols head coach Jeremy Pruitt said following the win. “I’m proud of our coaching staff. I thought they had a really good game plan. It’s good to see them have fun.”
Harrison Bailey started at quarterback for the Vols (3-6). The true freshman helped Tennessee strike first when he found Princeton Fant in the middle of the end zone for a 6-yard touchdown with 5:54 remaining in the first quarter.
Vanderbilt (0-9) immediately responded, marching down the field to score on an 18-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Ken Seals to Cam Johnson. The score set up Commodores kicker Sarah Fuller to make history. Fuller became the first woman to score in a Power 5 football game when she successfully made the extra point attempt to tie the game at seven apiece.
“I think it’s awesome,” Pruitt said of Fuller. “She walked out there and kicked it right through. So I just think it says a whole lot about her. Really kind of her fortitude to be brave enough to go do this. I think it says a whole lot about her.”
Fuller was only in charge of extra point attempts. On Vanderbilt’s next possession following a Tennessee three-and-out, Pierson Cooke made a 39-yard field goal to give the Commodores a 10-7 lead with 12:03 remaining in the second quarter.
Vanderbilt’s only lead of the game didn’t last very long. Except it wasn’t because Tennessee’s offense responded. It was UT’s defense that got the Vols back on track when Bryce Thompson used one hand to pick off an errant Seals pass and returned it 18-yards to give the Vols a 14-10 lead.
“I thought it was a really good call by Coach (Derrick) Ansley there,” Pruitt said. “We got pressure. Quarterback got out of the pocket, we had the next guy that was there. Bryce (Thompson) made a great play and there were two or three blocks there that helped him get in the end zone.”
Tennessee wouldn’t relinquish the lead after the Thompson pick-six despite a quarterback change. Pruitt made the move to redshirt sophomore J.T. Shrout after back-to-back empty possessions with Bailey at the helm. Shrout promptly found Velus Jones for a 23-yard touchdown to extend the Vols lead to 21-10.
“We just kind of went with a feel for it there,” Pruitt said of the decision to switch quarterbacks. “We had a plan to play JT (Shrout) because he played really well last week, just to see how he would do this week. We thought he did well.
“They’re both young players. The one thing they missed with fall camp is the opportunities to play in live situations. The way the season started early, it didn’t work out that way. So we’re giving them both opportunities.”
Shrout’s touchdown pass to Jones was one of two touchdown passes on the day for the California native. He found Jalin Hyatt on a slant over the middle of the field for a 26-yard touchdown just before the half to give Tennessee a 28-10 lead at the break.
The Vols picked up right where they left off after the half. With Bailey back in at quarterback, Tennessee marched right down the field and extended its lead to 35-10 on a 20-yard rushing touchdown from Ty Chandler.
Chandler’s rushing touchdown was the only score by either team in the third quarter. Tennessee would score for the final time in the fourth quarter on a 74-yard passing touchdown from Bailey to Jones to put the Vols up 42-17.
Bailey finished his second career start 14-of-18 for 207 yards and two touchdowns. He did not throw an interception for the second straight game. Shrout was the only quarterback to turn the football over on the night, finishing 6-of-13 passing for 90 yards and two touchdowns.
Jones finished with a season-high seven catches for 125 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Tennessee has one more game remaining on the season. The Vols will return home to face No. 5 Texas A&M next Saturday at 12 p.m. ET on ESPN.
“We’ve got one more opportunity and our guys are thankful for that,” Pruitt said.
