LEXINGTON, Ky. — The pick-six heard around Tuscaloosa served as the highlight play for Tennessee football a week ago.
The Vols were destined to take a one-score margin into the locker rooms, needing just a yard to pull back into the game. Zabien Brown had other plans, and it serves as the play to think on when highlighting the Vols’ struggles attempting to put up points before the half.
But Saturday night at Kroger Field, Tennessee executed perfectly. It marched the field in 10 plays, chipping away at 75 yards of turf — all while working within the time constraints of the 1:37 left on the clock when the Vols received the ball.
They did so in 1:32, as Joey Aguilar layered a pass to Ethan Davis in the back of the end zone to take a 35-21 lead with five seconds remaining in the half.
“It changes the way the game is played,” head coach Josh Heupel said.
“It was a good response drive by the offense and some critical plays and throws by Joey and the skill guys,” Heupel said. “And then the big time throw and catch on the touchdown with limited time right there to get seven out of it.”
Kentucky had just finished a grueling 16-play drive that spanned 96 yards. The Wildcats used eight minutes of the clock to do so, bringing the game to a one-score margin with under two minutes remaining — all while getting the ball to start the second half.
That left urgency for Tennessee’s offense.
Mismanagement of pre-half drives has been the demise of Tennessee football this season. It happened against Alabama with the interception. It happened against Mississippi State with a blundering of timeouts.
But Tennessee put those struggles in the past and moved the ball efficiently and effectively against the Wildcats’ defense.
The drive began on the Tennessee 25-yard line. DeSean Bishop took the first carry for four yards, followed by a nine-yard completion by Aguilar to Mike Matthews to move the chains.
A first-down incompletion set up an eight-yard gain in Staley’s direction on second down. Bishop followed with a three-yard carry to move the chains — but the clock became a slight concern.
Tennessee already burned the clock down to 36 seconds, moving the ball to its own 49-yard line.
Aguilar took the next play and scrambled out of bounds for four yards, and an incompletion followed. When a field goal looked like the most likely scenario, Aguilar flipped the script on third-and-six with 18 seconds left.
He found Ethan Davis for a 10-yard gain to the Kentucky 37-yard line. It prompted a timeout from the Wildcats.
And that timeout allowed Tennessee to regroup. Aguilar dropped a ball right in the bread basket to Staley at the 15-yard line, guiding him out of bounds to stop the clock.
One play later, Davis leaked to the back of the end zone. Aguilar dotted him for the score, and it served as a breath of relief for a team with many struggles executing the two-minute offense.
“Huge drive, you know what I mean, to win the middle eight go into halftime up seven more points is always a big deal,” Aguilar said. “Braylon, you got a feel, receivers out there getting feel, get in open space, and my job is to get them the ball and I did, and they just went out there made plays.
“But going into halftime up seven more points is always a good feel,” Aguilar said.
It brought a good mojo to the locker room at the break. The Vols’ defense came out and got a stop, forcing Kentucky to punt — and then the floodgates opened. Tennessee scored on its first possession of the second half, needing two plays from 70 yards out.
Then the Vols scored on the next two after that. Because of the two-score margin taken into halftime, Tennessee pulled away with a lead as big as 49-21 — starting by winning the middle eight.
“That was a real big play,” Brazzell said. “… the score like that after halftime just killed them, deflated them. So yeah, brought us confidence. Big time play by (Ethan Davis). Big time throw by Joey.”
