Tennessee Football: Turning Points in 30-13 Win vs. Austin Peay

Tennessee Football started the game off slow but found a way to turn it on to take a commanding lead.

I have one word for Joe Milton’s “bad game”… overreaction. There’s no denying that Joe Milton struggled at the beginning of the game. Still, everyone saying the season is over and completely doubting him is entirely wrong. Let’s dive into some turning points that helped lead the Volunteers to victory.

Joe Milton III rushes for 6 yards and gets the Volunteers’ first touchdown on the board.

Sometimes, it’s good to have a plan B when the arm isn’t working. Joe Milton’s plan B continues to be his legs, which he’s finding can help get him out of almost every situation. In this instance, the Vols were against the wall, and the game was tied at six a piece. Tennessee had the ball, and it was third and goal, and Joe Milton took it upon himself to go and get the Vols their first touchdown of the game right before the end of the first half.

Jaylen Wright opens the second half off by carrying the offense down the field.

Welcome to the party, Jaylen Wright. The Volunteers superstar running back took over in this opening drive, and it was clear what Josh Heupel’s halftime speech was about… get Jaylen the ball. There were five plays in this opening drive, four of which were to Wright. The first was a pass for 7 yards, and then the next three were him running the ball down to the five-yard line, which eventually ended with a Joe Milton touchdown pass to put the Vols up 14.

Wesley Walker sacks Austin Peay’s QB to force a turnover on downs.

This was a significant momentum kill for the Austin Peay offense when Walker forced a turnover on downs by sacking their QB. This eventually led to a Vols field goal and helped support the lead they were holding onto.

Mike DiLiello throws a 52-yard bomb to Trey Goodman for a Touchdown.

Just when things were finally starting to turn around for the Vols, Austin Peay struck back. This touchdown was a big momentum swing in the game. Still, luckily for Tennessee football, they were able to answer on the very next possession.

Joe Milton responded with a 43-yard touchdown to McCallan Castles.

Milton finally put the last nail in the coffin with this throw to Castles to extend their lead to 30-13. The Vols were struggling, but these small glimpses of great plays excite me about this season’s future.

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