KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- No. 19 Tennessee topped Texas A&M 20-13 at Neyland Stadium in a massive game between cross-division foes. Aggies quarterback Max Johnson was picked off by Kamal Hadden at midfield on a fourth-and-10 with 22 seconds to play to ice things away and keep the Volunteers at least in the mix of the SEC East title race.
With Tennessee up 17-13 under four minutes to play, Gabe Jeudy-Lally picked off Johnson on third-and-10 and returned it to the Aggie 6-yard line. The Volunteers couldn't punch it in for six, but Charles Campbell kicked a 24-yard field goal to make it 20-13 with 2:31 to play and force the Aggies to try for the end zone on their final drive.
The biggest play of the game came in the third quarter when Tennessee took the lead on a 39-yard punt return for a touchdown courtesy of Dee Williams. The short field was set up by Vols punter Jackson Ross, who pinned the Aggies at their 1-yard line, and a defensive stand that forced the Aggies to punt from the back of the end zone. That play gave the Volunteers the 14-10 lead -- one that they wouldn't relinquish.
Johnson was harassed all day by the stout Volunteer pass rush, which recorded three sacks and eight tackles for loss. That doesn't include the numerous times it impacted plays by forcing Johnson out of the pocket or a running back to make an early cut. Johnson finished the afternoon 16 of 34 passing for 223 yards, zero touchdowns and two picks.
Tennessee quarterback Joe Milton didn't have a great day with 50% passing for 100 yards, one touchdown and one interception. However, he added 34 yards on the ground and his 7-yard strike to Jacob Warren in the first quarter gave the Volunteers the early lead.
A new way to win
Tennessee returned to national prominence in 2022 on the back of an aerial attack led by quarterback Hendon Hooker and Bilentnikoff Award-winning receiver Jalin Hyatt. The Vols advanced to 5-1 on Saturday, however, with little help from their offense. On a day when quarterback Milton completed just 11 passes and threw a potentially devastating interception in the end zone, the defense and special teams took over.
The Vols reached Texas A&M territory nine times but scored just one touchdown and two field goals in those forays into Aggie territory. Thus, it was up to an often-maligned defense to keep Tennessee in the game. Defensive coordinator Tim Banks' unit met the challenge, holding Texas A&M to just 277 total yards and 54 yards rushing. The Vols were credited with 11 quarterback hurries, which kept Johnson out of rhythm throughout the day.
Validating the run game
Tennessee's passing attack will remain a concern as the Volunteers throttle toward a rivalry showdown at No. 11 Alabama next week. Beating the Aggies validated the legitimacy of the Volunteers' rushing attack, though. Tennessee racked up 232 yards rushing behind a 136-yard effort on 19 carries from Jaylen Wright.
Texas A&M allowed 2.61 yards per carry entering Saturday, which ranked top-five nationally, and had just successfully mitigated Alabama's rushing attack in a Week 6 loss. Still, the concerns over the Volunteers' ability to run against the Aggies proved overblown. Wright and Jabari Small repeatedly bit off chunks on the ground to help atone for their team's lackluster passing game.
Texas A&M's outlook
For a second consecutive week, Texas A&M's shoddy pass protection left Johnson struggling to stay upright. The Aggies failed to hit a pass play of 30 or more yards and struggled to find leading receiver Evan Stewart, who caught just four passes on 12 targets. Defensively, A&M played to near-perfection by repeatedly stiffening against Tennessee in critical moments, but the effort went to waste.
With three losses already on the ledger and road tests still ahead against No. 13 Ole Miss and No. 22 LSU, another season with of 4 or more losses now appears almost inevitable. The Aggies are squandering a chance to make noise in an unusually weak SEC West. In coach Jimbo Fisher's first five seasons, the Aggies lost four or more games in every year except for the COVID-shortened 2020 season. Saturday's outcome will only ratchet up the heat on Fisher as the Aggies head to late October with little hope of winning the SEC West.