STARKVILLE, Miss. — Tennessee made enough mistakes to lose multiple football games Saturday night. But they made the winning plays late, pulling out a thrilling 41-34 overtime victory at Davis Wade Stadium.
The Vols’ defense made an abundance of huge stops late while Joey Aguilar led a crucial game-winning touchdown drive. Here’s four quick takeaways.
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An Abundance Of Self Inflicted Mistakes
The first three plays couldn’t have gone much better for Tennessee. The Vols forced Mississippi State into third-and-long before Dominic Bailey sacked Blake Shapen on third down to force the punt. That’s where things went sideways. Braylon Staley muffed the punt, giving Mississippi State the ball at the Vols’ 20-yard line. Mississippi State took advantage.
It was the first of many self inflicted mistakes by Tennessee. In fact, there were too many to talk in detail about all of them. Staley failed to catch another punt, allowing Mississippi State to down the ball at the one-yard line. Star Thomas and Staley each had third down drops that ended first half drives.
Mike Matthews was wide open behind the Mississippi State defense and Joey Aguilar dropped one right in the bucket for what should have been a 69-yard touchdown. Only Matthews dropped it.
Tennessee’s first three offensive drives produced just three points. There was a dropped touchdown on one drive and dropped passes on third down the other two drives. Then in the second half with Tennessee leading in plus territory, Aguilar threw a fastball that went through Miles Kitselman’s hands and was intercepted and returned deep into Tennessee territory.
Tennessee’s Pass Rush Makes Game Changing Plays
Tennessee’s defensive issues are clear through five games this season. However, the Vols’ pass rush is improved from a season ago and that was significant against the Bulldogs.
The Vols consistently got home with four pass rushers, totaling five sacks with Caleb Herring, Tyre West, Dominic Bailey and Tyree Weathersby all getting home. But even when Tennessee didn’t get home, they made Blake Shapen uncomfortable.
Colton Hood’s first half pick six came on an inaccurate throw as Shapen was under pressure both from the edge and up the middle. When Tennessee stopped the run —which was no guarantee— and forced Mississippi State into third-and-long, they had success getting off the field because of the pass rush.
The biggest play of the game came early in the fourth quarter. One play after Mississippi State converted a fake punt, West hammered Shapen from behind and knocked the ball out. Josh Josephs picked the ball up and took it 41 yards for a go-ahead touchdown.
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Run Game Disparity
The one area I was very confident Tennessee had an advantage coming in was its run offense versus Mississippi State’s run defense. I thought the Vols run defense also may be able to slow down Mississippi State’s run offense. Both turned out to be very untrue.
Mississippi State largely sold out to stop the run in this game but they did it effectively. Tennessee rushed for only 32 yards on 132 carries and Aguilar was sacked just two times for a loss of eight yards. Tennessee’s longest run was a 25-yard touchdown run in overtime. It was one of just three runs over 10 yards.
On the contrary, Tennessee played a lot more two-safety looks. But Mississippi State was able to move the ball with consistency on the ground while struggling to throw the football. The Bulldogs rushed for 198 yards despite the five sacks that led to a loss of 32 yards.
While Tennessee shot themselves in the foot plenty, the run game disparity is what gave Mississippi State a consistent chance to win throughout the game.
Joey Aguilar And Defense Steps Up Down The Stretch
Josh Heupel has often praised Joey Aguilar for his ability to stay even keel after both big plays and mistakes. He proved it in Starkville, making some massive plays down the stretch.
After throwing an interception that set Mississippi State up for a short touchdown drive to take the lead, Aguilar made a number of huge plays to drive Tennessee down the field for a game-tying touchdown. There was the fourth down throw over the middle, a beautiful ball down the sideline under pressure for a 17-yard Mike Matthews gain.
Then he alluded pressure up the middle and found Braylon Staley to move the sticks on third-and-six deep in Mississippi State territory. He finished the drive with a massive six-yard touchdown run.
There was still plenty of time left on the clock but Tennessee’s defense forced a three-and-out to get the game to overtime. Then they recorded the game winning stop in overtime.
