BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ā Tennessee had two players earn Southeastern Conference weekly awards on Monday with quarterback Hendon Hooker being named SEC Offensive Player of the Week and defensive end Byron Young garnering SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week honors.
The duo of Hooker and Young helped lead the Vols to a huge victory over then No. 17 Pittsburgh, marking the program’s first non-conference road win over a top-20 opponent since defeating No. 6 Miami back in 2003.
Hooker accounted for 352 yards of total offense and two touchdowns to lead No. 24 Tennessee to a 34-27 triumph over the Panthers. The redshirt senior signal caller was 27-of-42 for 325 yards and two scores through the air, rallying the Vols from a 10-0 deficit. In the process, Hooker broke the school record for consecutive attempts without an interception, which now stands at 167 straight attempts without a pick. The Greensboro, North Carolina, native also moved into sole possession of second place in UT history for consecutive games with a touchdown pass with 14. Hooker came up clutch in overtime, stepping up in the pocket and firing the game-winning, 28-yard touchdown strike to Cedric Tillman.
The honor marks the second time that Hooker has been tabbed the SEC Offensive Player of the Week in his career after also earning the award on Nov. 8, 2021, following a road win over No. 18 Kentucky.
Young, a preseason first-team All-SEC selection, notched four tackles, a game-high two tackles for loss, a sack and a game-high three quarterback hurries to help lead an impressive defensive showing by the Big Orange. The senior edge rusher was disruptive all afternoon for a UT defense that registered 16 quarterback hurries on the day, its first double-digit output since producing 10 against Georgia State on Sept. 8, 2012. His sack came at a crucial moment in the fourth quarter on third down for a loss of six yards.
Young is the first Vol to win SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week honors since Kyle Phillips did so on Oct. 15, 2018.
Tennessee will be back at home in Neyland Stadium for its next two contests, hosting Akron this Saturday at 7 p.m. before an SEC showdown against rival Florida on Sept. 24. Get your tickets now at AllVols.com.
-UT Athletics
Vols QB Hendon Hooker & OLB-DE Byron Young / Credit: UT Athletics
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ā Tennessee had two players earn Southeastern Conference weekly awards on Monday with quarterback Hendon Hooker being named SEC Offensive Player of the Week and defensive end Byron Young garnering SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week honors.
The duo of Hooker and Young helped lead the Vols to a huge victory over then No. 17 Pittsburgh, marking the program’s first non-conference road win over a top-20 opponent since defeating No. 6 Miami back in 2003.
Hooker accounted for 352 yards of total offense and two touchdowns to lead No. 24 Tennessee to a 34-27 triumph over the Panthers. The redshirt senior signal caller was 27-of-42 for 325 yards and two scores through the air, rallying the Vols from a 10-0 deficit. In the process, Hooker broke the school record for consecutive attempts without an interception, which now stands at 167 straight attempts without a pick. The Greensboro, North Carolina, native also moved into sole possession of second place in UT history for consecutive games with a touchdown pass with 14. Hooker came up clutch in overtime, stepping up in the pocket and firing the game-winning, 28-yard touchdown strike to Cedric Tillman.
The honor marks the second time that Hooker has been tabbed the SEC Offensive Player of the Week in his career after also earning the award on Nov. 8, 2021, following a road win over No. 18 Kentucky.
Young, a preseason first-team All-SEC selection, notched four tackles, a game-high two tackles for loss, a sack and a game-high three quarterback hurries to help lead an impressive defensive showing by the Big Orange. The senior edge rusher was disruptive all afternoon for a UT defense that registered 16 quarterback hurries on the day, its first double-digit output since producing 10 against Georgia State on Sept. 8, 2012. His sack came at a crucial moment in the fourth quarter on third down for a loss of six yards.
Young is the first Vol to win SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week honors since Kyle Phillips did so on Oct. 15, 2018.
Tennessee will be back at home in Neyland Stadium for its next two contests, hosting Akron this Saturday at 7 p.m. before an SEC showdown against rival Florida on Sept. 24. Get your tickets now at AllVols.com.
-UT Athletics
Vols QB Hendon Hooker & OLB-DE Byron Young / Credit: UT Athletics
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. ā Following a ranked road victory over No. 17 Pittsburgh on Saturday afternoon at Acrisure Stadium, the Tennessee Volunteers rose to No. 15 in the Associated Press Top 25 and earned its first ranking of the season in the USA TODAY Coaches’ Poll, checking in at No. 16.
Playing its second consecutive top-20 team in a true road game, the Vols rose to the occasion, downing Pitt, 34-27, in an overtime thriller. With the victory, head coach Josh Heupel became the first Tennessee coach since the beginning of the AP Poll era, which started in 1936, to defeat a top-20 opponent in each of his first two seasons at the helm.
The No. 15 AP ranking marks Tennessee’s highest position in the polls since Oct. 4, 2020, when the Vols assumed the No. 14 spot after besting Missouri, 35-12.
Coach Heupel last coached his team to a ranking of 15 or better on Sept. 27, 2020, when the UCF Knights assumed the No. 11 ranking.
With its fresh ranking, the Vols return to Neyland Stadium to face Akron at 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 17. Tickets for the game are available for purchase at AllVols.com.
Treyvon Flowers lined up to the right of the Tennessee defense, flanking the defensive end.
You knew he was going to blitz.
That had been Tennesseeās M.O. throughout the game, putting pressure on Pittās quarterbacks, playing aggressively in hopes of disrupting the offense.
But this was overtime. One false step could alter the outcome.
Flowers shot through a gap on the left side of Pittās line and sacked Nick Patti for a 12-yard loss on a crucial third-and-goal from the UT 9-yard line.
On the next play, Patti fired an incompletion on fourth down at the 21 and No. 24 Tennessee (2-0) escaped with a 34-27 victory Saturday over No. 17 Pitt (1-1) at the Steelersā Stadium near Three Rivers.
Tennesseeās first game in the state of Pennsylvania yielded the Vols first win over Pitt in four tries.
And it wouldnāt have happened without Flowersā key sack and Tennesseeās resilient defense.
Time after time, Tennesseeās offense or special teams put the defense in harmās way.
For the most part, the defense responded.
When the offense stalled in the second half, scoring just a lone field goal, the defense held Pitt to 10 points. Pitt scored after a blocked punt gave the Panthersā the ball at the UT 19 and a muffed punt by Flowers gave Pitt the ball at the UT 39.
If Pitt hadnāt been gifted those short fields, Tennessee might have pitched a shutout in the second half.
Nonetheless, Tennessee rose to the occasion when it had to, delighting the thousands of resourceful UT fans that managed to buy tickets to the away game.
The Vols made enough major mistakes in the second Johnny Majors Classic to incur a defeat.
But the defense would have none of it.
Itās rare when defense is the reason a Josh Heupel team wins a game, but it happened at Pitt.
“How about that effort from our defense,āā Heupel said, after a four-sack, 16-hurry showing. “It was a dominant performance from them most of the second half. ā¦ That was a big-time effort.āā
The Vols were criticized the week before for not getting a sack against Ball State. But defensive coordinator Tim Banks played a vanilla scheme, rarely blitzing.
Banks took a different approach against Pitt, and it worked. UT blitzed linebackers, cornerbacks, safeties. It hit Pitt starter Kedon Slovis so often, he couldnāt play the second half.
It hit Patti so often, he was left with a limp.
Heupel expressed some frustration that Pitt was able to complete several first-half passes just before Slovis was slammed. But the relentless pressure paid dividends.
Tennessee did allow a fourth-down quarterback touchdown pass with 2:23 left that tied the game at 27-all. But the Vols wouldnāt have been in that situation if the offense had been more productive.
In overtime, UT scored on Hookerās 18-yard touchdown run but it was nullified by a holding penalty.
On the next play, Hooker found Cedric Tillman for a 28-yard score. Tillman, who earlier dropped a touchdown pass and was stopped a foot short on another catch, caught nine passes for 161 yards and was targeted at least 17 times.
“I was just the better man that play,āā Tillman said of beating Pittās defensive back on the TD catch. “Iām a big body receiver. Nine times out of 10 I trust myself, 10 times out of 10 I trust myself (to make that catch).āā
When Pitt got the ball in overtime, it converted a fourth-and-5, but three plays later, Flowers made up for his muffed punt by sacking Patti for a 12-yard loss on a blitz.
“All week long,āā Heupel said, “I said it was going to take 60 minutes and it took more. I didnāt know I was lying.āā
Tennesseeās offense, which had scored at least 45 points in four consecutive games, went into a rare funk. It went three-and-out on the first two drives of the game and failed on fourth down on the next possession.
UT then scored touchdowns on the next three series and kicked a field goal before half for a 24-17 lead.
In the second half, UT went without a touchdown as the Vols struggled to run the ball and protect Hooker. But the defense bowed up and delivered when it mattered most.
The Vols ran for just 91 yards on 39 carries and lost two fumbles.
But Pitt was unable to sustain any success on offense. The Panthers went 5 of 17 on third-down and missed two field-goal attempts.
Tennessee had to overcome adversity to get the victory. It had a punt blocked, muffed a punt, had a touchdown nullified by a penalty and a dropped touchdown pass.
Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi said last week the Panthers beat a good team with an average or below average performance.
Tennessee did just that against Pitt.
Tennessee has now played in more overtime games that any team in college history ā and won more overtime games than any team in college history.
“Man,āā Huepel said. “what a victory for this program.āā
And what a victory for Tennesseeās defense.
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Treyvon Flowers lined up to the right of the Tennessee defense, flanking the defensive end.
You knew he was going to blitz.
That had been Tennesseeās M.O. throughout the game, putting pressure on Pittās quarterbacks, playing aggressively in hopes of disrupting the offense.
But this was overtime. One false step could alter the outcome.
Flowers shot through a gap on the left side of Pittās line and sacked Nick Patti for a 12-yard loss on a crucial third-and-goal from the UT 9-yard line.
On the next play, Patti fired an incompletion on fourth down at the 21 and No. 24 Tennessee (2-0) escaped with a 34-27 victory Saturday over No. 17 Pitt (1-1) at the Steelersā Stadium near Three Rivers.
Tennesseeās first game in the state of Pennsylvania yielded the Vols first win over Pitt in four tries.
And it wouldnāt have happened without Flowersā key sack and Tennesseeās resilient defense.
Time after time, Tennesseeās offense or special teams put the defense in harmās way.
For the most part, the defense responded.
When the offense stalled in the second half, scoring just a lone field goal, the defense held Pitt to 10 points. Pitt scored after a blocked punt gave the Panthersā the ball at the UT 19 and a muffed punt by Flowers gave Pitt the ball at the UT 39.
If Pitt hadnāt been gifted those short fields, Tennessee might have pitched a shutout in the second half.
Nonetheless, Tennessee rose to the occasion when it had to, delighting the thousands of resourceful UT fans that managed to buy tickets to the away game.
The Vols made enough major mistakes in the second Johnny Majors Classic to incur a defeat.
But the defense would have none of it.
Itās rare when defense is the reason a Josh Heupel team wins a game, but it happened at Pitt.
“How about that effort from our defense,āā Heupel said, after a four-sack, 16-hurry showing. “It was a dominant performance from them most of the second half. ā¦ That was a big-time effort.āā
The Vols were criticized the week before for not getting a sack against Ball State. But defensive coordinator Tim Banks played a vanilla scheme, rarely blitzing.
Banks took a different approach against Pitt, and it worked. UT blitzed linebackers, cornerbacks, safeties. It hit Pitt starter Kedon Slovis so often, he couldnāt play the second half.
It hit Patti so often, he was left with a limp.
Heupel expressed some frustration that Pitt was able to complete several first-half passes just before Slovis was slammed. But the relentless pressure paid dividends.
Tennessee did allow a fourth-down quarterback touchdown pass with 2:23 left that tied the game at 27-all. But the Vols wouldnāt have been in that situation if the offense had been more productive.
In overtime, UT scored on Hookerās 18-yard touchdown run but it was nullified by a holding penalty.
On the next play, Hooker found Cedric Tillman for a 28-yard score. Tillman, who earlier dropped a touchdown pass and was stopped a foot short on another catch, caught nine passes for 161 yards and was targeted at least 17 times.
“I was just the better man that play,āā Tillman said of beating Pittās defensive back on the TD catch. “Iām a big body receiver. Nine times out of 10 I trust myself, 10 times out of 10 I trust myself (to make that catch).āā
When Pitt got the ball in overtime, it converted a fourth-and-5, but three plays later, Flowers made up for his muffed punt by sacking Patti for a 12-yard loss on a blitz.
“All week long,āā Heupel said, “I said it was going to take 60 minutes and it took more. I didnāt know I was lying.āā
Tennesseeās offense, which had scored at least 45 points in four consecutive games, went into a rare funk. It went three-and-out on the first two drives of the game and failed on fourth down on the next possession.
UT then scored touchdowns on the next three series and kicked a field goal before half for a 24-17 lead.
In the second half, UT went without a touchdown as the Vols struggled to run the ball and protect Hooker. But the defense bowed up and delivered when it mattered most.
The Vols ran for just 91 yards on 39 carries and lost two fumbles.
But Pitt was unable to sustain any success on offense. The Panthers went 5 of 17 on third-down and missed two field-goal attempts.
Tennessee had to overcome adversity to get the victory. It had a punt blocked, muffed a punt, had a touchdown nullified by a penalty and a dropped touchdown pass.
Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi said last week the Panthers beat a good team with an average or below average performance.
Tennessee did just that against Pitt.
Tennessee has now played in more overtime games that any team in college history ā and won more overtime games than any team in college history.
“Man,āā Huepel said. “what a victory for this program.āā
And what a victory for Tennesseeās defense.
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