Unlikely Tennessee hero arrived out of nowhere to help Vols punch their CFP ticket

A game that started in the worst way possible ended up being one to remember for Tennessee. Talk about a memorable afternoon in Nashville for Josh Heupel and the Vols as a whole. Indeed, Vanderbilt jumped out to a 14-0 lead, which had people worried.

However, the Tennessee offense was able to get back on track following the early fumble from star running back Dylan Sampson. We all knew quarterback Nico Iamaleava was going to pick up his play, but did you have Dont'e Thornton Jr. in mind as someone who would come up huge for Heupel?

Probably not, but hey, we don't blame you for that. Entering the season, Thornton had 529 yards and four touchdowns to his name. However, in the win over Vanderbilt, Thornton was sensational, especially in the first half. Things were of course highlighted by his 86-yard score:

Dont'e Thornton came up huge for the Tennessee Vols at Vanderbilt

Thornton's day started with a 28-yard touchdown from Nico and then he followed things up with his epic score. On the 86-yarder, Thornton caught the ball in stride and then he took off, giving multiple Vandy defenders no chance to bring him down.

He simply was not going to be stopped. Concern arrived when it was announced that senior wideout Bru McCoy was going to miss the game due to injury. With his experience, people had a feeling Thornton would be able to come up with some grabs when his number was called with McCoy out, but who saw this coming?

On the day, the 6-5, 215-pounder finished with three receptions for 118 yards and his two head-turning scores. It was a tremendous day at the office for him and one he's going to remember for quite some time.

Thornton's showing is only made more special with the Vols avoiding the upset and booking their ticket to the College Football Playoff. Vanderbilt looked sharp early on, but the Vols outscoring them 36-9 after that was unreal. Thornton was a big reason for that.