Nico Yamaleava threw for 257 yards and four touchdowns as Tennessee rallied from a 14-point deficit in the first five minutes to beat in-state rival Vanderbilt 36-23 on Saturday.
The Volunteers (10-2, 6-2 Southeastern Conference; No. 8 CFP) needed a big win to impress the College Football Playoff committee enough to earn a home playoff game in December.
They beat Vanderbilt (6-6, 3-5) for the sixth straight season.
Even better, they bounced back from the nightmare when they started giving up the first 14 points by scoring 29 straight points. They led 24-17 at halftime on Yamaleave’s first three TD passes.
Junior Sherrill returned the kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown that Vanderbilt stuns the mostly orange crowd. Dylan Sampson fumbled on the Vols’ second play from scrimmage, and Sedrick Alekanader had a 4-yard TD run on a 26-yard drive to quickly put Vandy up 14-0.
Then Yamaleava got Tennessee going with a 28-yard TD pass to Dont’e Thornton Jr.
Tennessee got a break when Max Gilbert A goal from 50 yards bounced off the crossbar and over. Yamaleava found Thornton again for an 86-yard TD, then threw an 18-yard TD pass to Miles Kitselman just before halftime.
Yamaleava hit the first shot in the third quarter Mike Matthews with a 14-yard TD pass for a 31-17 lead. The Vols added a safety Tire West and another field goal by Gilbert.
Diego Pavia threw a 31-yard TD pass to Richie Hoskins late with Vandy’s 2-point conversion falling short for the final margin.
Implications of the survey
Tennessee didn’t make a good early impression with another slow start. The Vols have to hope for some help to have any chance of moving up a spot or two. The big question is whether the Vols will host a playoff game December at Neiland Stadium where they remained undefeated this season.
Takeaway
Tennessee put together TD drives of 91 and 96 yards in the first half alone. The Vols then beat Vandy on their own guard play after not managing 10 minutes of possession in the first half. They finished with the advantage in that stat, outscoring Vandy 538-212.
Vanderbilt had one of the best offensive records against Tennessee of any opponent this season. The Commodores had 114 rushing yards and 17 points by halftime against a defense that ranked sixth nationally, allowing just 98.8 yards per game. The Vols were fourth in the nation, allowing just 13.1 points per game, and held 10 of 11 opponents under 20 points this season.
Sampson’s latest record
The Tennessee running back, who set a program record with 22 rushing TDs this season, missed the end zone for the first time this season. Sampson finished with 178 yards rushing to reach 1,485 yards for the season, surpassing the school mark of 1,464 set by Travis Stephens in 2001.
Next
Tennessee waits to hear its place in the CFP field, while Vanderbilt learns its bowl destination on Dec. 8.
Associated Press reports.
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