Tennessee Football Defeats New Mexico State

Tennessee gets the best of New Mexico State on Saturday.

Tennessee wide receiver Chris Brazzell II (17) moves the ball while grabbed by New Mexico State safety Armahn Hale (2) during an NCAA college football game on November 15, 2025, in Knoxville, Tenn. | Brianna Paciorka/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Tennessee Volunteers play yet another game on Saturday as they played against the New Mexico State Aggies, in a game that Tennessee was favored by 40 points entering the contest. This is the Vols first game since their defeat against Oklahoma, two weeks ago inside Neyland Stadium. The Vols had a bye week just a week ago, which allowed them to regroup and become one again after what seemed to be one of their more underwhelming performances in recent memory.

Tennessee Football Defeats New Mexico State

Tennessee wide receiver Braylon Staley (14) smiles after scoring a touchdown during a NCAA football game between Tennessee Volunteers and New Mexico State Aggies at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn., on Nov. 15, 2025. | Angelina Alcantar/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Tennessee is one of the better teams when it comes to a home-field advantage, as you have to imagine it is quite the advantage playing in front of 102,000 fans that support you no matter what. This game was one that the Vols expected to win, but with their performance, it is safe to say they fell a bit short of their expectations. With that being said, the Tennessee Vols still won the contest considerably. They walked away with a win that was highlighted by the scoreboard showing 42-9.

Joey Aguilar didn't have the brightest performance, but his streak of 200+ yards will continue after he picked it up in the 4th quarter. Aguilar finished the game, throwing 17-23 for 204 yards with one touchdown (a 15 yard pass to slot receiver Braylon Staley) and two interceptions. This brings his interception total to double-digits, which hasn't been done in quite some time.

Aguilar did have a rushing touchdown, which was arguably the highlight of the game on the offensive side. The biggest play of the game was a pick-six in favor of the Vols from William Wright. This became the 6th defensive touchdown for the Tennessee Volunteers. The defensive had a reasonable showing. They could have been better, but they answered the call in a lot of situations.

This Tennessee team is tasked with two important games to close the season. The first of the two will be played next week, as the Tennessee Volunteers will play against the Florida Gators. This game will be played in the dreaded Swamp. A place that the Tennessee Volunteers have been haunted, but the good news about this is the fact that Tennessee will be the favorites in this one. They will need to come out and play better if they want to win this one.

Their final regular season game will be a game where the Vols will play the Vanderbilt Commodores in Neyland. They will have the chance to play spoiler to any playoff hopes that they have at this time.

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