Vols' defense provides program-record three scores in win over UConn
Tyler Baron's mind went back two years as he approached the end zone at Neyland Stadium on Saturday.
Moments after Gabe Jeudy-Lally ripped the ball from Geordon Porter's grasp, Baron scooped it off the turf and raced down the sideline with open field in front of him.
He thought back to a similar situation against Ole Miss in 2021 when a fumble he recovered and took back for a touchdown was negated by a forward progress call. This one counted and it provided Tennessee with an exclamation point to a dominant first half in its 59-3 dismantling of UConn.
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"I just want to shout out Gabe Jeudy-Lally, it was a great play by him," Baron said. "But yeah, there was a little PTSD to be honest. I thought it might be called back but I'm just appreciative of the whole defense."
Baron's touchdown was one of three by Tennessee's defense—a program first going back to at least the 1949 season when box scores were taken.
Tennessee upped its lead by two more scores before the offense even touched the field in the second half. Safety Jaylen McCollough stepped in front of a Ta'Quan Robinson pass and returned it 30 yards for a touchdown on the first play of the third quarter.
On UConn's following possession, linebacker Aaron Beasley nabbed another Robinson pass, taking it back 39 yards the other way and upping the Vols' advantage to 49-3.
"I was really supposed to squeeze and give it to my next man in the zone," Beasley said. "But I really just felt that the quarterback was going to throw it, so I stayed and tried to make a play and did."
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Offensively, Tennessee posted 650 yards of total offense but just 221 yards in the second half as most of the starters were pulled, including quarterback Joe Milton III and running back Jaylen Wright.
Two defensive touchdowns helped provide valuable reps on the other side of the ball.
"It changes the way the second half unfolds," Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel said. "The opportunity for us to get a lot of our younger guys in the football game early in the third quarter with what (UConn) was doing offensively draining the clock, there wasn't a lot of opportunities as the game unfolded late to get your roster in the football game. At the end of it, we have an opportunity for guys that have very limited opportunities on the game field to get in there and you want that for those guys.
"Those guys worked, you know, 365 days out of the year, too. It was fun to see those guys go out and play really well and finish the game out the right way."
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Tennessee's defense has been game-changing this season. It directly led to the Vols' 20-13 win over Texas A&M last month which included two late interceptions to seal a victory late. A week before, a Kamal Hadden interception returned for a touchdown late in the first half was key in a 41-20 rout of South Carolina.
According to Baron, though, the defense is still in search of its best game as it enters a final stretch that includes games against No. 14 Missouri and No. 1 Georgia in the coming weeks.
"Not to be too nit-picky but honestly, there's a ton we could have cleaned up just to be better as a unit," Baron said. "We're happy with the results, but there was definitely a lot we could have cleaned up."
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