Tennessee football’s top five performers in 66-24 win vs. Missouri
When you pour it on a team the way Tennessee football did for Senior Day against the Missouri Tigers Saturday, lots of players will be worthy of recognition. Eight different Vols were responsible in some way for the nine touchdowns the team scored, and seven different Vols made it into the end zone themselves.
On defense, despite giving up 24 points, UT shut Mizzou down starting midway through the third quarter. The Vols were able to use their backups before the fourth quarter began, and they put on a show. Even kicking and punting was elite, as Chase McGrath nailed a 48-yarder and Paxton Brooks hit both his punts inside the 20.
As we get set to name the best players from the day, it was hard to narrow it down. Performance in big moments took the cake, but we’ll name a bunch of players beyond the ones on this list as we go. Here are the five best Vols performers in Tennessee football’s 66-24 win over Missouri.
These were the best Tennessee football players in the Volunteers’ victory over the Mizzou Tigers.
839. Pick Analysis. Brandon Turnage. player. Scouting Report. Defensive back. r-Junior. 5
1 TFL, 2 PD, 2 tackles (2 solo)
There were issues in the secondary for the Vols Saturday. Brandon Turnage himself was on a blown coverage in which Brady Cook threw a 4th and 1 touchdown pass. However, Turnage was in position, and that pass wouldn’t have happened if Jaylen McCollough took the right angle on the other side, so he can’t really be blamed for that.
Meanwhile, Turnage was elite the rest of the game. He came away with two pass deflections, both of which were almost interceptions. One of them was an epic close by him, and for the most part, be took away a side of the field. Everywhere you looked Saturday, Turnage was there.
That tackle for a loss by Turnage came on a 2nd and 3 early in the first half. UT was only up 14-7, and Turnage got off his block on a screen destined to be a huge gain to get a four-yard tackle for a loss, which killed the drive. Tennessee football needed Turnage all day Saturday, and he delivered for them in multiple ways.