GAME RECAPS

Tennessee 34 vs. Pitts 41 // September 11, 2021

 

KNOXVILLE, Tenn - Coach Josh Heupel lost his first game as the head coach of the Tennessee Vols on Saturday, falling to the Pittsburgh Panthers 41-34. 

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The Vols (1-1) started out strong with a blocked punt by Christian Charles, setting up Tennessee on Pitt’s two-yard line. Jabari Small took it into the endzone on the next play, leading to an early 7-0 lead for the Vols. 

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UT QB Joe Milton went down early in the second quarter with a lower leg injury. Henden Hooker came in for Milton to make his debut for the Vols. Hooker made some standout plays, and ended the game with 15 completions for 21 attempts and 188 yards. There were 13 penalties for 134 yards along with one turnover for the Vols Saturday. 

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“That kind of caught me off guard,” Heupel said.“It’s on me and it’s on the players too because those are penalties that just cannot happen. That’s one of those things that when I say we need to clean up we have to get where we want to go.” 

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Pittsburgh (2-0) stepped up on both sides of the ball. They attained their 14-13 lead half way through the second quarter with a 16 yard touchdown pass to tight end Lucus Krull. Pitt’s offense took control and scored a total of 27 points in the second quarter going into halftime 27-20. 

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Rolling into the second half the game was stagnant until Pitt scored with nearly five minutes left on the clock making it a two possession game. Tennessee responded with a touchdown pass of their own, cutting it down to one possession.

 

Pitt started off the fourth quarter with a touchdown pass to Jordan Addison making the game 41-27. The Vols responded, sending Jaylin Wright into the endzone with a one yard run. Pitt forced their only turnover of the game in the fourth during a pivotal moment for the Vols. Pitt’s defense stepped up and ended the game with five sacks, two fumble recoveries, and an interception. QB Kenny Pickett also had an efficient game, throwing for 285 yards and two touchdowns. 

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In Coach Heupel’s final statement regarding the game he stated, “We lost by 7. I think that there were some positives we had from this game. I love the way we started the game.”

 

Tennessee has the chance to get back on the winning track when they face Tennessee Tech Saturday at noon. 

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*This article is from a mock press conference and some of the statements released are not accurate.*