KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – After passing for a career-best 328 yards and leading Tennessee to a 30-24 victory at No. 21 Auburn, redshirt sophomore quarterback Jarrett Guarantano was named to the Pro Football Focus College National Team of the Week on Sunday.
Guarantano picked up a 93.3 grade from PFF College – the highest grade of any offensive player on the National Team of the Week.
The third-year Vol from Bergen, N.J., tallied career-bests in attempts (32) and completions (21), while tossing two touchdowns and committing zero turnovers as Tennessee won its first SEC game of the season, picking up its first win over a ranked team in over two years.
Guarantano was incredible on third down, completing 11-of-14 passes, including 8-of-8 on third-and-8 or longer.
His 42-yard touchdown pass to sophomore running back Ty Chandler tied the game 10-10 at the start of the second quarter, while his 25-yard touchdown strike to redshirt junior wide receiver Jauan Jennings gave the Vols the lead for good (20-17) with 3:25 remaining in the third quarter.
Guarantano’s 328-yard performance is the most by a Vol since current Pittsburgh Steelers’ backup quarterback Joshua Dobbs passed for 340 yards at Vanderbilt on Nov. 26, 2016.
Tennessee’s victory over Auburn was the Vols’ first over the Tigers since 1999 and first on The Plains since 1998.
In his 12th career start, Guarantano led the Vols to their first road upset over a ranked SEC team since Phillip Fulmer led Tennessee to a 51-33 win at No. 10 Georgia on Oct. 7, 2006.
On the season, Guarantano has completed 80 of 125 pass attempt for 1,129 yards and six touchdowns with only two interceptions. His 64.0 completion percentage ranks fifth in the SEC. He is averaging 9.0 yards per attempt, which is fourth in the SEC and No. 16 in the nation.
The Vols return to action against No. 1 Alabama on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET at Neyland Stadium. Tickets are available at AllVols.com. The SEC Network’s traveling pregame show, SEC Nation, will be live from Tennessee’s campus on Saturday morning from 10 a.m. to Noon, as well.
