5. Trevon Flowers interception against the Mississippi State Bulldogs
It was the second interception of the game for Tennessee football and didn’t seem like much at the time. But to anybody who had been following the Vols to this point, it was actually a huge deal and something they really needed.
The Vols were already up 7-3, but Brian Maurer had just thrown his second red zone interception. So they had two turnovers to the Mississippi State Bulldogs’ one. This was a big deal because turnovers were the story behind the 1-4 start. Without them, Jeremy Pruitt’s kids would have started 2-0 and been in the game with the Florida Gators and Georgia Bulldogs.
So everybody knew MSU would cash in on the turnovers after their second pick…until they didn’t. After getting past the 40, they appeared to be driving for a late score. Then Trevon Flowers came through and intercepted a pass right back. This was huge because it was UT’s second interception, and it let everybody know that they could now go blow for blow with teams in the turnover battle.
Maurer was injured, so UT called three straight run plays with Jarrett Guarantano on the next drive and then settled for a long Brent Cimaglia field goal to go up 10-3 at halftime. But that score came thanks to Flowers’s interception.
Although the safety unfortunately broke his leg and was lost for the season on that play, his pick changed the narrative and let everybody know UT would not continue giving games away. That was a huge deal for their momentum going forward, and they finished that game with three picks.