Tennessee vs. Texas A&M: Score and Twitter Reaction

Mike ChiariOct 8, 2016

Despite more late-game heroics to overcome a 21-point deficit and force overtime, the No. 9 Tennessee Volunteers suffered their first defeat of the season Saturday in a 45-38 loss to the No. 8 Texas A&M Aggies at Kyle Field in College Station, Texas.

The Aggies improved to 6-0 overall and 4-0 in the SEC despite being outgained 684-592 in total yards. They did it largely thanks to timely takeaways, forcing seven turnovers, including five fumbles.

TOP NEWS

Bleacher Report1w

Bleacher Report1w

College Football Playoff National Championship: Head Coaches News Conference

Bleacher Report1w

According to ESPN Stats & Info, this marks the best start for Texas A&M in 22 years.

Senior quarterback Trevor Knight threw for 239 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions to go along with 110 yards and three scores on the ground for A&M, while freshman running back Trayveon Williams rushed for 217 yards and one touchdown.

Junior running back Alvin Kamara picked up 127 yards and two touchdowns on the ground as well as 161 yards and one touchdown through the air in the losing effort for the Volunteers.

ESPN Stats & Info provided the following note on Kamara's day:

Kamara's third and final touchdown came with less than a minute remaining in regulation and forced overtime thanks to a missed field goal by Texas A&M in the waning seconds. But the Aggies managed to drop the Vols with an interception in the second OT after a one-yard TD run from Knight.

Tennessee has struggled to get off to fast starts in 2016, but early indications Saturday suggested that trend might change.

On just the second play from scrimmage, junior defensive end Derek Barnett hit Knight, which resulted in an interception by junior defensive back Todd Kelly Jr.

After trading punts, however, Texas A&M's defense got in on the act, as junior defensive lineman Myles Garrett forced Tennessee senior quarterback Joshua Dobbs to fumble deep in Vols territory, as seen in this Vine, courtesy of the SEC:

The Aggies offense took advantage of that short field when Knight found sophomore wide receiver Christian Kirk from 13 yards out to go ahead 7-0 after the ensuing extra point.

After missing last week's game with an ankle injury, Garrett made an instant impact with the forced fumble in addition to making a key tackle on third down during Tennessee's first drive.

While Texas A&M had arguably its best player back in the fold, the Volunteers were without one of their stars in junior running back Jalen Hurd, who was held out due to multiple injuries, according to CBS' Allie LaForce.

The Vols felt his absence on the ensuing drive when his replacement—Kamara—fumbled following a long gain on a screen pass, as evidenced by this video from SEC on CBS:

Although that miscue likely cost Tennessee points, the Vols forced a punt and got on the scoreboard on their next drive thanks to some misdirection.

Tennessee tied the score at 7-7 with under four minutes remaining in the first quarter when sophomore wide receiver and former high school quarterback Jauan Jennings threw a four-yard touchdown to Dobbs on a trick play, via SEC on CBS:

Texas A&M answered right back, though, with a touchdown of its own less than two minutes later.

Knight hit senior wide receiver Josh Reynolds for a 43-yard gain on a beautiful deep ball and then found Reynolds again two plays later for a two-yard score to go up 14-7 after the PAT.

The momentum built from that touchdown carried over to the kickoff when sophomore linebacker Cullen Gillaspia caused junior kick returner Evan Berry to fumble, which prompted a Texas A&M recovery at Tennessee's 22-yard line, as SEC on CBS shows:

Following a defensive pass-interference call, Knight found paydirt on a seven-yard run to help extend the Aggies' lead to 21-7 in the latter stages of the first quarter.

After Tennessee overcame 21- and 17-point deficits in the previous two weeks, Clay Travis of Fox Sports Radio joked that the Vols were in ideal position:

As Bruce Feldman of Fox Sports pointed out, though, there is nothing ideal about the way Tennessee has performed in the opening quarter this season:

Perhaps the most frustrating aspect of Saturday's first quarter for Volunteers head coach Butch Jones was the fact that his team moved the ball to great effect but shot itself in the foot with fumbles, per Patrick Brown of the Times Free Press:

For as action-packed as the first quarter was, the second quarter was equally nondescript with the teams trading six consecutive punts before heading into the locker room with Texas A&M up 21-7.

Tennessee drove into Aggies territory on its first possession of the second half, but a botched zone-read between Dobbs and sophomore running back John Kelly resulted in the Vols' fourth lost fumble of the contest.

That mistake proved to be a costly one, as A&M needed just over two minutes to drive the ball 61 yards, culminating in a seven-yard touchdown scamper by Williams to help make the score 28-7 in favor of the Aggies.

In the wake of Texas A&M's fourth touchdown of the game, Dan Wolken of USA Today suggested the comebacks of the previous couple of weeks may have taken too much out of the Vols:

Despite that, Tennessee answered emphatically by marching 82 yards in just three-and-a-half minutes for a touchdown on a 15-yard run by Kamara to help cut the deficit to 28-14.

The Vols continued to build momentum when junior linebacker Colton Jumper intercepted Knight on the next drive.

Tennessee then appeared to be moving toward yet another touchdown, but Kelly fumbled deep in Texas A&M territory, and the Aggies notched their fifth fumble recovery of the day at their own 2-yard line.

The Aggies quickly improved upon that field position on the next play when Knight targeted Reynolds down the sideline, and the senior wideout made a remarkable one-handed catch, as seen in this video from SEC on CBS:

Texas A&M had to punt, but it got the ball back soon after when senior defensive back Justin Evans intercepted Dobbs off a bobbled ball, which marked Tennessee's sixth turnover of the day.

A scary moment occurred with just under 12 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter when Volunteers senior defensive lineman Danny O'Brien was injured following a head-to-head collision. Ben Baby of the Dallas Morning News described the scene, as both teams were concerned for his well-being:

The teams were then tasked with the difficult situation of having to continue the game after O'Brien was carted off, but LaForce reported positive news on the broadcast, as Tennessee officials said O'Brien was moving all four extremities.

Texas A&M was forced to punt shortly thereafter, and Tennessee then continued to show why it is such a dangerous team late in games.

The Vols drove 85 yards on 12 plays in less than four minutes with Kelly finding the end zone to help pull them within seven points at 28-21.

After the teams traded punts, the once-stagnant Texas A&M offense came to life at the perfect time, as Knight kept the ball on a third-down play and ran 62 yards for a touchdown to help put the Aggies ahead 35-21 with just 3:22 left on the clock:

Just when it seemed as though Tennessee's chances were gone, the never-say-die Volunteers found the end zone again on a 65-yard drive that took just over a minute, ending in a four-yard scoring run by Kamara after he rushed for 36 yards on the previous play.

The Aggies were then just one yard away from icing the game for good when Williams ran 72 yards and was about to enter the end zone, but senior defensive back Malik Foreman forced a fumble from behind, resulting in a touchback and possession for the Volunteers:

Dobbs connected with freshman wide receiver Tyler Byrd for 43 yards on the next play from scrimmage, and the Volunteers were once again in business.

That set the stage for Kamara to burn the Aggies in the passing game, as he scored from 18 yards out, and the Volunteers tacked on the extra point to tie it at 35-35 with 41 seconds left in regulation:

Albert Breer of TheMMQB.com summed up Kamara's day:

Texas A&M seemed as though it may have been content to go to overtime, but after a 14-yard run by Williams that got the ball down to its own 39-yard line, the Aggies went for the win.

A 21-yard completion to Kirk got the ball into Tennessee territory, and Williams set up the game-winning field-goal attempt with a 22-yard run to the Vols' 18-yard line.

There was more magic left for the Volunteers, however, as sophomore kicker Daniel LaCamera pulled a 38-yard field-goal attempt badly to the left, which sent the game to OT.

Pat Forde of Yahoo Sports summed up LaCamera's miss:

The first overtime possession went to Tennessee, and after the Vols got stopped short on third down, junior kicker Aaron Medley connected from 34 yards out to give the Vols a 38-35 lead.

Texas A&M couldn't pick up a first down, which put LaCamera in another high-pressure situation. But he redeemed himself by knocking one through the uprights from 34 yards out to tie the game at 38-38.

On the Aggies' next possession, Kirk made a beautiful catch on an underthrown ball by Knight at the 1-yard line, and Knight ran for a touchdown on the next play to make it 45-38 after the extra point:

Tennessee ran out of magic on the first play of its second overtime drive, as junior defensive back Armani Watts picked off Knight to end the game.

With the win, head coach Kevin Sumlin's Aggies ensured that they continue to control their own destiny in the SEC West.

While they have a huge showdown with the No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide looming Oct. 22, the Aggies have firmly established themselves as contenders in the SEC and threats to make a run to the College Football Playoff.

Saturday's performance was far from Texas A&M's best despite forcing so many turnovers, as Tennessee moved the ball effectively, and the Aggies offense struggled to find a rhythm for much of the game.

But A&M figured out how to do something no other team had done previously, though, by holding off the Volunteers and their late-game miracles.

The loss was a frustrating one for Tennessee due to the amount of mistakes it made, but with a favorable schedule ahead—with the exception of a meeting with Alabama—the Vols still have a great shot to win the SEC East.