Date: October 14, 2023
The 19th ranked Tennessee Volunteers came from behind in the 2nd half to beat Texas A&M, 20-13.
Defense was the key word in this game. A&M entered the game with one of the best defensive lines in all of college football on paper. Tennessee enters with a new identity based on better defensive performance. The result: a low-scoring thriller where every play truly mattered.
Max Johnson did not disappoint, scrambling around the backfield and making some plays that truly reminded me of watching Bryce Young last year in Neyland. My buddy even compared one of Johnson’s incomplete passes to something that Mahomes does, and he was right.
Of course, the numbers weren’t quite there for Johnson, as he finished with two interceptions but zero passing TDs. The one rushing TD was a heck of a play and set the tone early for A&M to put up a big fight against the Vols.
Dee Williams downed a Jackson Ross punt inside the 1-yard line, and took a punt 39 yards to the house just four plays later to give the Vols a 14-13 edge late in the 3rd quarter.
James Pearce added another sack to his season total. Gabe Jeudy-Lally picked up a huge interception late in the game to put the Vols inside the 10-yard line, setting up a Charles Campbell FG.
Kamal Hadden continued his mission of proving everyone wrong by intercepting Max Johnson to seal the victory for the Vols with under a minute left in the game.
The home winning streak extends to 13 for the Vols, going all the way back to 2021.
Josh Heupel is now 3-2 against SEC West opponents at UT, with his only losses being to Ole Miss and Alabama in 2021.
This is Tennessee’s first win against Texas A&M since New Years Day, 2005, when the Vols won 38-7 in the Cotton Bowl. It marks the first victory over A&M in Knoxville in program history.
A small rivalry has grown between the two in the last decade, beginning with A&M’s 2OT win in 2016 in College Station. Jeremy Pruitt’s final game as head coach at UT was a 34-13 defeat in 2020 in Knoxville at the hands of a CFP-hopeful Aggies team.
Tennessee’s all-time record against Texas A&M moves to 3-2.