College Football

How Texas A&M Held Off the Inevitable Tennessee Comeback on Saturday

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 8:08 p.m. ET

foxsports

Tennessee was down 28-7 in the 3rd quarter against Texas A&M. How did they manage to take the game to overtime, and how did the Aggies ultimately prevail?

It seems like Tennessee has been doing this all season. Against Appalachian State in the season opener, the Volunteers were down 13-3 at halftime but won in overtime. They spotted Virginia Tech two touchdowns in the Battle at Bristol before running away with the victory. Florida was up 21-3 at the half in Knoxville before the Vols ended their losing streak to the Gators. And last week against Georgia, Tennessee once again came from behind in wild fashion.

When Texas A&M negated a Joshua Dobbs touchdown catch with two quick scores of their own in the first half, it looked like business as usual for Tennessee. The Volunteers went into the locker room at Kyle Field down 21-7, and the Aggies extended the lead to 21 points on their first drive of the second half. It was the biggest deficit that Tennessee had faced all season, and yet nothing really felt settled until the final whistle.

How does Butch Jones’ team keep pulling off these comebacks? And how did A&M manage to fend off the late charge to remain undefeated?

Oct 8, 2016; College Station, TX, USA; Tennessee Volunteers wide receiver Tyler Byrd (10) is brought down by Texas A&M Aggies defensive lineman Jarrett Johnson (40) during the second quarter at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

The Tennessee Comeback

The Volunteers got the ball back after falling behind by three scores and methodically drove down the field, unfazed, to pull the deficit back within 14. Dobbs went 3-of-4 for 58 yards on the drive, and Alvin Kamara punched in the score from 15 yards out. Tennessee did not get rattled after having been in this situation so many times before, and it paid off as they kept within reach of the Aggies.

Tennessee’s defense was integral to keeping the team in the game. After Kamara’s run made it 28-14, Colton Jumper picked off Trevor Knight’s pass on second and eight to quickly end A&M’s chance of rebuilding its advantage. The Vols offense bogged down, as the Aggies nabbed two turnovers of their own over the next quarter. But Tennessee forced punts on four straight Texas A&M drives, and eventually Dobbs was able to get the Vols into the end zone again with 6:58 remaining in the fourth quarter.

Texas A&M eventually got back into the end zone to make it 35-21, but Tennessee remained calm. Kamara was the star of the drive to get the first touchdown needed, finishing the 75-second drive with runs of 36 and four yards. The Vols elected to kick off to the Aggies, and it looked like it had cost them a shot at the win when Trayveon Williams stayed on his feet and broke free toward the end zone for what would be the clinching score. Then Malik Foreman punched the ball out of his hand through the end zone for a touchback, and Tennessee had new life. Dobbs threw on every down, completing five of his six attempts. The last completion, a short pass that Kamara muscled over the goal line, tied things at 35-35 with 41 seconds remaining.

Texas A&M still had time to get down the gridiron into field goal range, and that’s just what the Aggies did. Knight centered the ball between the hashmarks with eight seconds remaining, and Daniel LaCamera came out to attempt a 38-yard kick to win the game. Butch Jones called two timeouts to ice the kicker, and it worked as LaCamera shanked the attempt far wide left. Dobbs took a knee on the change of possession, and things went to overtime.

Oct 8, 2016; College Station, TX, USA; Texas A&M Aggies wide receiver Jeremy Tabuyo (19) tries but cannot make the catch as Tennessee Volunteers defensive back Marquill Osborne (3) defends during the second quarter at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Texas A&M’s Survival

Tennessee ultimately didn’t win the game, but it might have been their most impressive comeback of the year nonetheless. In overtime, the Volunteers got the ball first and went basically nowhere. Kamara got nowhere on the ground on first down. Dobbs ran for five yards on second down, and then was unable to pick up the first down on his third-down throw to Josh Malone. Out came Aaron Medley, who coolly belted through the 34-yard field goal to put Tennessee up by three.

Texas A&M likewise was bogged down on its first drive of overtime. The Aggies kept the ball on the ground, letting Knight and Williams pick up nine yards to line up LaCamera for a 34-yard attempt of his own. The ball was on the left hashmark this time, and Jones only had one timeout with which to ice the kicker. Once he got his shot at redemption, LaCamera took care of business and sent the game to a second overtime as the ball flew right down the middle of the uprights.

In the second overtime frame A&M had the ball first, and after a false start penalty backed up the Aggies they got to work. Williams gained five yards to make it second and 10. Knight found Christian Kirk near the goal line, and after replay confirmed that Kirk kept the scooping catch off the turf the Aggies had first and goal at the 1. On the next play Knight punched it in on a rollout run to the left, and the extra point put the pressure on Tennessee.

Ultimately Dobbs and crew couldn’t get the job done. On the first play of their next drive, Tennessee ended the game for themselves. Dobbs could work no more magic as his pass flew directly to Aggie defender Armani Watts, and the interception sealed a tight 45-38 victory for the home team. Texas A&M now enters the second half of its schedule undefeated, while Tennessee returns to Knoxville wondering what might have been.