TENNESSEE VOLS FOOTBALL: Last-ditch pass comes up empty in thriller

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KNOXVILLE — It was a defensive grind for every quarter as Tennessee welcomed the top-ranked Longhorns to Neyland Stadium.

In a match that went down to the wire, the No. 1 Longhorns outlasted the No. 14 Vols 20-17, with the final play coming down to a Hail Mary from Faizon Brandon, tipped by the Longhorns' defense.

Brandon finished his game with an underwhelming stat line of 17-for-29, throwing just 145 yards in the air, while running for just two net yards on the ground.

The Longhorns (4-0, 1-0 SEC) kept Brandon uncomfortable the entire game, they finished the contest with an insane 10 sacks, five of them coming from Colin Simmons, who had one taken away still after an unsportsmanlike penalty.

“Offensively, just not anywhere close to being good enough to beat a team like this,” Tennessee football head coach Josh Heupel said, his team 3-1 and 0-1. “Everybody will have a hand in it when we go back on Monday with the tape, with the guys. Up front, not good enough. Quarterback, not good enough. Everybody’s got a hand in it. Ultimately, we’ve got to be better.”

Simmons was the difference maker, as he had just one fewer sack than the Vols had as an entire team. Not meant to discredit the Vols' defense, as they kept the team in the game all afternoon long, but Simmons was simply that good on Saturday.

The Longhorns began the game with a touchdown drive capped off by a Raleek Brown run, before the Vols responded with three points of their own the very next possession.

After two quick scores from both sides, neither team found the end zone the rest of the half, with only three more points coming in the form of a second-quarter field goal, to put the Longhorns up 10-3 at the half.

The Vols' first score of the day didn’t even come from their offense, but from the special teams. Qua Moss returned a punt in the middle of the third quarter for 57 yards, tying the game back at 10.

On the next Longhorns’ possession, they drove back down the field to score another field goal, a 44-yarder this time, to put the Longhorns back in front by three.

Brown found the end zone once again to seemingly put the Vols away, they trailed 20-10 with under five minutes to go.

“We’re playing a good offensive football team,” Heupel said. “They’re good up front, their offensive line. They’re good at skill spots. And they’ve got a good quarterback. They put the performance together today the way that they did, you have a real chance to go win a football game.”

Yet a late pass from Brandon to wideout Mike Matthews for 30 yards put the game back within three with a little over a minute to go. Jackson Ross added to the dramatics with an impressive onside-kick attempt, Arion Carter recovered and gave the Vols one last chance.

Yet flags and miscues reigned supreme in the final drive, the Vols were never able to make it deep into Longhorns’ territory and ended the game with a failed hail-mary.

Now the attention turns to Auburn at home next weekend, where Brandon and the offense get a chance to right the ship after their miscues against the nation’s top team.

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