In what seemed like a replay of so many games from last season, the Vols came out victorious in a wild back and forth affair.
For four quarters and an overtime the Vols trailed, but they found themselves on the victorious side in the end.
After the Yellow Jackets stung the Vols with their rushing attack, the Vols were able to recover and win a 42-41 thriller in double overtime.
The Vols got off to a red-hot start on defense in the first half, flying around to the ball and forcing two quick three-and-outs. However, the triple-option offense is known to wear opponents down, and that is what it did to the Vols.
The Yellow Jackets went on to score on two of their next three drives while chewing up the time of possession. Their triple-option offense held the ball for over 20 minutes in the first half.
A big reason for the Yellow Jackets’ ball dominance was the Vols’ inability to get Yellow Jackets’ offense off the field on third downs. The Vols allowed the them to convert 8-11 third downs in the first half.
Offensively, the Vols had the ball for only 8:43 in the first half and only ran 28 plays. Due to the defense’s inability to get off the field, the offense totaled just 94 yards in the first half.
Junior Quinten Dormady did not begin well in his first career start. He missed several passes, throwing some into a lot of traffic and also showing some inaccuracy.
While he may have struggled, the issues weren’t completely Dormady’s fault. A combination of the Yellow Jackets’ pass rush and dropped passes from receivers also helped play a part in a 8-20 first half from Dormady that resulted in just 52 yards through the air.
The bright spots in the Vols’ first half were John Kelly and Evan Berry.
Kelly had seven rushes for 35 yards in the first half with a touchdown. He also added three catches for 19 yards to lead the team in receiving in the first half as well.
For Berry, it was just back to the basics. The program’s all-time return yardage leader nearly took two kickoff returns the distance. He had 86 yards in his two returns before the Yellow Jackets decided to kick away from him.
In the second half, the Vols decided to fight back with a much better effort.
Defensively, the team still struggled against the run and finished the game giving up 535 rushing yards.
Offensively, the Vols did receive a spark from sophomore wide receiver Marquez Callaway, who caught four passes for 115 yards and two touchdowns in the second half. Playing a big part in the Vols’ comeback was the improved play of Dormandy, who finished 20-37 with 221 yards passing and two touchdowns.
Key in the third quarter was a tough catch in traffic that led to a touchdown by Kelly that tied the game up at 28, eventually sending it to overtime. After two overtime periods, a Yellow Jackets two point conversion attempt ended the game, giving the Vols a wild victory in their opener.
