By: John Dunn
The All Vol Call in Show
12/12/2020
Coming into the 2020 season, as they do in most seasons, the Tennessee Volunteers had high expectations. After finishing the 2019 season on a six game winning streak, the Vols had garnered some hype across the nation. Starting the season off with back-to-back wins over South Carolina and Missouri helped further the belief that Tennessee may be on track for one of the best seasons in a long time. That was six losses ago. Now, the Volunteers are holding on to different expectations.
Trying to save what little bit of hope seems to be left, and a highly-rated recruiting class that seems to be falling apart, the Vols traveled to Vanderbilt to take on the 0-8 Commodores, who only have 49 scholarship players on their roster.
Tennessee struck first, on their second possession, with a touchdown pass from freshman quarterback Harrison Bailey to tight end Princeton Fant. Vanderbilt answered back, as Ken Seals found a wide-open wide receiver in the end zone for six. On the ensuing PAT, Sarah Fuller became the first woman to score a PAT in a power five conference game, tying the game at 7-7, which would hold through the remainder of the first quarter.
The Commodores gained the lead in the second quarter on field goal, before Bryce Thompson came down with a one-handed interception in which he returned for a touchdown, giving Tennessee a 14-10 lead with 8:30 remaining in the first half. After inserting JT Shrout in at quarterback, the Vols' offense found their second touchdown of the day when Shrout connected with Velus Jones for a touchdown, further extending the Tennessee lead to 21-10 with limited time remaining in the first half. The Vols continued to expound upon their lead as Shrout connected with Jalin Hyatt for six. With the successful PAT, Tennessee took a 28-10 lead into the locker room at the half.
The Vols got the ball back to start the third quarter, and wasted no time in finding the end zone. In five plays, Tennessee traveled 70-yards to extend their lead to 35-10 after a 20-yard rushing touchdown form Ty Chandler.
Midway through the fourth quarter, Seals threw a pass to the goal line, which was caught for a touchdown, bringing the score to 35-17 with just over 7:30 remaining.
After regaining possession, Tennessee quickly found six more points from Velus Jones as Bailey hit him in stride, and he bounced off defenders for a 74-yard touchdown. With just under seven minutes remaining, Tennessee took a 42-17 lead. The game would end minutes later, with the Vols securing their first victory in seven games.