Tennessee football Smokey points: Top five Vols in 23-22 Gator Bowl win

He threw no touchdowns and two interceptions, one of which was a pick-six. Also, on three trips to the red zone, Jarrett Guarantano overthrew clear touchdown passes, resulting in the Vols suffering a turnover on downs and having to settle for two field goals. But despite all of that, Guarantano still gets to be on this list.

Like he’s done all year, he turned things around when he was sent to the bench for a drive. Jeremy Pruitt pulled him after the pick-six and put him right back in. After back to back three-and-out drives, he got the ball with just over five minutes left and Tennessee football down 22-9. That’s when he came alive.

Guarantano completed five straight passes, all of which were amazing. Then he drew a pass interference with a throw to Jauan Jennings. That set up a touchdown to make it 22-16. After recovering an onside kick, he then hit Josh Palmer to set up the Eric Gray touchdown run. He finished 18-of-31 for 221 yards.

The red-hot play of Guarantano at the end of this game earns him a spot on this list. We can’t explain it, but he always seems much more relaxed and confident when he comes off the bench. It showed again here, and the way he turned things around again is the feel-good story of the season. Now, in the offseason, he’s got to work on being great when he starts.