Tennessee was never in danger of losing on Saturday night in Neyland Stadium, but the performance wasn’t exactly what the doctor ordered either. The Volunteers jumped out to a 21-0 lead on New Mexico State
to open the second quarter, but that’s pretty much where the fun ended.
Back to back three and outs ended Tennessee’s sleepy second quarter, while New Mexico State was able to tack on three points to close the half. Tennessee’s 21-3 lead at halftime was hardly what we’ve come to expect with Josh Heupel’s teams against inferior opponents.
“During the week, I thought there was a day where offensively we weren’t on edge at practice,” Heupel said of his team’s preparation. “And it’s a fine line. When you get to game day it doesn’t just happen. So I said that to them in the locker room too. At the same time, it’s not necessarily going to be perfect.”
Joey Aguilar manufactured two long touchdown drives to put away the Aggies in the third quarter. William Wright delivered the final nail with a pick six to extend the lead out to 42-3.
Aguilar played into the fourth quarter, which is something not many expected to see. He finished his day with 204 yards passing, throwing one touchdown and two interceptions.
“The one (to Miles Kitselman) is intermediate concept,” Heupel said of the first interception. “Ball is a little bit inside. We got to go close out and finish on the play, too. And he’s moving in the pocket on the second one. He saw the post player, was actually trying to throw the over. (His) body may not have been in a great position and he gets hit a little bit on the play and the ball just sails on him, two plays that we have to go execute and can’t be turnovers.”
Aguilar is now up to ten interceptions on the season. He tossed 14 total at Appalachian State last season.
Tennessee struggled to find any big plays on the ground on Saturday night, but did end up running for 194 yards on 39 carries. DeSean Bishop led the way once again with 80 while Aguilar made a big play early with his legs to find the endzone. Star Thomas was able to find the endzone as well, scoring against his old team.
Defensively, Tennessee performed as you would expect. The Volunteers overwhelmed New Mexico State up front, limiting the Aggies to just 27 yards on the ground. Caleb Herring and Dominic Bailey got home for sacks, while William Wright and Ty Redmond came away with interceptions. Tennessee was credited with seven tackles for loss.
Tennessee suffered a couple of key injuries in this one, losing tight end Miles Kitselman and guard Wendell Moe. Both of those situations are ones to monitor as the Volunteers enter Florida week.
