Vols Use Fourth Quarter Surge to Overcome Indiana, Claim Gator Bowl
Tennessee fans won’t have to wait another year to celebrate the program’s first postseason victory under Jeremy Pruitt.
For awhile, it looked like they might have to.
After five consecutive wins to end the regular season, the Vols’ train of momentum rolled into Jacksonville on Thursday.
Following an impressive stretch throughout UT’s win streak, Jarrett Guarantano struggled early but came on late, finishing 18-of-31 for 221 yards and two interceptions as Tennessee (8-5, 5-3 SEC) used a 14-point fourth quarter surge to overcome Indiana 23-22 at TIAA Bank Field.
Eric Gray tallied 87 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries and Josh Palmer finished with six receptions for 68 yards for the Vols.
For the Hoosiers (8-5, 5-4 Big Ten), Peyton Ramsey led the way with 227 yards through the air and 80 yards and one touchdown on the ground.
The win marks Tennessee’s first postseason win under a Pruitt, their third consecutive bowl game win as a program. Out of those three, this may have been the most difficult one to seize.
From the opening drive, it appeared that the Vols were in for one of those games.
Many of the same problems that have plagued Tennessee all season manifested themselves once again.
Guarantano, who tallied a career-High 415 passing yards on the road against Missouri, was struggling with his accuracy once again.
Despite hitting on 7 of his first 11 throws, the redshirt junior quarterback tossed a pair of interceptions, one returned for a touchdown, as the Vols struggled to find red zone consistency.
Tennessee dominated the line of scrimmage throughout the first half, at one point nearly doubling the Hoosiers in total offensive yardage.
The only problem with that was, the Vols were unable to put the ball in the end zone. Both times UT reached the red zone, it was forced to settle for Brent Cimaglia field goals.
Not ideal.
Indiana quarterback Peyton Ramsey underwent struggles of his own, but was able to find his groove when the Hoosiers appeared helpless on offense.
Tom Allen’s team rattled off 16 straight points, including Jamar Johnson’s 63-yard interception return, to pull ahead by 10 in the third period, scoring 19 of the quarter’s 22 points.
Logan Justus’ 30-yard field goal with 10:27 remaining in the fourth period appeared to put the game out of reach, but just as they have in six of their final seven games, the Vols dug deep and found an answer.
After being replaced by Brian Maurer during one of Tennessee’s earlier drives, Guarantano came back in and led UT on consecutive scoring drives down the stretch.
They didn’t come without a bit of trickery on Pruitt’s part.
Following a Quavaris Crouch’s one-yard touchdown run with 4:21 remaining in the fourth quarter, the Vols’ head coach took a page out of Sean Payton’s book.
Down by six, Tennessee lined up in kicking formation, only to pull an onside kick out at the last second.
The Vols would recover and march down the field in less than 45 seconds of game time, Gray’s 16-yard touchdown scamper capping off the defining drive of the season.
Indiana wouldn’t go away quietly, however.
With Tennessee ahead by just one, the Hoosiers had a chance to drive within field goal range and claim the program’s first postseason victory in over two decades.
Ramsey got Indiana to the Tennessee 45-yard line, but a stout string of four plays from the UT defense sealed the deal.
In year two under Pruitt, the Vols were able to rebound from a 1-4 start to qualify for a bowl game and in similar fashion, overcame a two-score deficit in the fourth quarter to cap off the season with six consecutive wins.
It doesn’t get more ironic than that.
