KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Jalen Hurd recovered a fumble in the end zone during the first overtime period to complete a 10-point comeback over Appalachian State and allow No. 9/10 Tennessee to escape Neyland Stadium with a season opening winon Thursday night.
The Vols trailed 13-6 entering the fourth quarter, but Joshua Dobbs hit Josh Malone on a 67-yard pass down the left sideline. Malone had two catches for 81 yards on the 6 play, 92-yard drive which tied the game at 13 with 10:30 remaining in fourth.
“At the end of the day we found a way to win the football game,” head coach Butch Jones said. “We had some players step up and make some critical plays. Just about anything and everything went wrong. We found a way to win, got it to overtime and had a clutch play to Josh Malone.”
The Vols (1-0) fell behind after Cameron Sutton muffed a punt on the first drive. Appalachian State recovered the ball and promptly marched 36 yards, capped by a five-yard rushing touchdown by Taylor Lamb.
The Mountaineers pushed their advantage to 13-3 with 8:53 remaining in the second quarter as Lamb floated a ball down the right sideline to Marcus Cox. Cox caught the 33-yard score on a wheel route out of the backfield.
That score held until halftime. Appalachian State (0-1) outrushed the Vols, 82-56, in the first half and held possession for 16:30 as it controlled the tempo.
The Vols’ momentum changed early in the second half as Sutton picked off a Lamb pass on the opening drive. Tennessee was able to turn the App State miscue into three points on Aaron Medley’s second field goal of the game, bringing the Vols to within 13-6 entering the fourth quarter.
The Vols went to overtime for the second-consecutive season opener, but Dobbs kept the opening drive of the extra session alive with a winding six-yard run on third-and-6. Three plays later, Dobbs dashed for the corner of the end zone, but lost the ball as he tried to extend over the goal line. Hurd recovered the ball in a scrum to put UT up 20-13.
In his first career start, Micah Abernathy broke up Lamb’s pass in the end zone on fourth-and-5 to secure the Tennessee’s seventh-straight win and eighth-straight victory in a season opener.
TENNESSEE IN SEASON OPENERS: UT owns a 90-24-6 (.775) all-time record in 120 season openers. The Vols have won eight-straight season openers and 20 of their last 22. Tennessee took a 59-30 win over Bowling Green on Sept. 5, 2015, at Nissan Stadium in Nashville. The Vols have won 22-consecutive season openers played in Tennessee, dating to 1986.
HURD STRONG: Jalen Hurd rushed for 112 yards, surpassing the 100-yard barrier for the fourth-consecutive game. The junior running back also passed Jamal Lewis (487) and Travis Stephens (488) to move into ninth on the school’s all-time carries list.
CAREER NIGHTS: Sophomore Darrin Kirkland Jr. and junior Cortez McDowell set career highs with nine tackles apiece. The two linebackers stepped up for Jalen Reeves-Maybin who was ejected in the first quarter for a targeting hit in punt coverage.
MOST OT WINS IN NCAA HISTORY: The Vols picked up their 12th overtime win in school history to break a tie with Missouri at 11 for the most overtime wins in NCAA history. It also snapped a three-game overtime losing streak at home.
UP NEXT: The Vols will take on Virginia Tech in the Battle at Bristol at 8 p.m. ET on ABC. ESPN College Gameday will be on hand at Bristol Motor Speedway to preview the contest expected to have the largest crowd to ever witness a college football game.