24.9/7/19 - Double OT Thriller: BYU - 29, Tennessee - 26

            In 2019, the BYU Cougars (0-1) once again boasted one of the toughest schedules in the nation. In Week 2, the Cougars faced an SEC powerhouse, the Tennessee Volunteers (0-1), in Knoxville for the first ever meeting meeting between the two schools.

After BYU was forced to punt, the Volunteers ground out an 80-yard, 15-play TD drive that chewed up more than seven minutes of clock time. After instant replay overturned an incomplete pass call, placing the ball at the BYU 5, Tennessee went for it on fourth-and-three, and the Volunteers responded with a 5-yard TD pass from Jarrett Guarantano to Jauan Jennings, who initially bobbled it, but then secured it to give the Vols a first quarter lead. BYU responded by marching 61 yards, almost half of which came in one play. The double reversal started with a handoff to Lopini Katoa, who handed off to Aleva Hifo, coming the opposite way, who tossed it back to QB Zach Wilson. Wilson then fired the ball to TE Matt Bushman, who leaped and caught it before falling to the ground and skidding out of bounds at the Volunteer 19 for a 27-yard pickup. A few plays later, Jake Oldroyd booted a 31-yard FG.

In the second quarter, the Vols again went for it on fourth down, inside the Red Zone, but this time BYU stopped them on fourth-and-one. Unfortunately, the offense went backwards on a sack and a recovered fumble. The resulting punt gave Tennesee good field position from which they were able to get close enough to boot a 51-yard FG. On the Vols’ next possession, a 53-yard rush by Ty Chandler set up a 39-yard Tennesse FG with 21 seconds left in the half, giving them a 13-3 halftime lead.

Tennessee started with the ball in the second half, but Guarantano was picked off by Kavika Fonua, who ran it back to the Tennessee 20. On third down, Ty’Son Williams swept right and outraced three Volunteers to the right corner of the end zone for a 16-yard TD that pulled the Cougs within 3. Both teams struggled to move the ball until the end of the quarter.

Tennessee marched 77 yards to the BYU 5 as the fourth quarter opened. As they flipped directions, the BYU D stiffened, and the Vols were compelled to kick a 22-yard FG. Midway through the quarter, BYU answered with a 42-yard FG that pulled them within 3 again. Tennessee advanced to the BYU 30 on their next possession, but on fourth-and-one, The Cougar D brought down the runner about a foot short of the first down marker. Unfortunately, they had to punt the ball back to Tennessee after a quick three-and-out. Fortunately, Tennessee returned the favor a couple of minutes later. With 1:01 remaining, sitting on their own 16, the Cougars went to work. On second-and-18, Wilson couldn’t find anyone open. Avoiding the Volunteer pass rush, he scrambled to the 20, setting up third-and-six with the clock running and no time-outs remaining. *Although the offense was slow getting set up, they finally snapped the ball with 0:17 ticks remaining. Micah Simon broke free of his defender and Wilson led him with a long bomb that Simon caught at the Tennessee 45. Simon broke one tackle and kept running until he was dragged down at the Volunteer 16 for a 64-yard reception with 0:07 remaining (#18). The clock stopped long enough to reset the chains while Wilson and the Cougars hustled up the field so that he could spike the ball and stop the clock for one final play. Jake Oldroyd’s 33-yard FG soared over the right pole to tie the game at 16-all as the clock counted down to 0:01.

Micah Simon's catch
Courtesy of BYU Photo

Jake Oldroyd's game-tying FG
Courtesy of BYU Photo

The Cougars drew first blood in OT with a 14-yard TD pass to Talon Shumway, who ran a slant pattern and caught the ball with a short leap that carried him into the end zone. On third-and-ten, Tennessee answered with a 13-yard TD pass to Jennings, who had to wrestle the ball away from the Cougar defender. The Vols then went up by 3 with a 40-yard FG in double OT. Aleva Hifo got a first down for the Cougars on a reverse that placed the ball at the 12. *On second-and-three, Wilson handed the ball to Ty’Son Williams, who charged into the line at the three where it looked like he would be stopped. But Williams kept pushing the line forward, slowly but surely until he crossed the goal line for a 5-yard TD rush to pull out a thrilling 29-26 2OT win (#50).

Ty'Son Williams
Courtesy of BYU Photo

After falling to 0-2, the Volunteers eventually rebounded, winning their last six games, including a 23-22 win in the Gator Bowl over Indiana to finish their season with an 8-5 record. BYU would finish the season with a 7-6 record, including two wins over ranked opponents.

Game highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYPZgcwmxkw 

*BYU Tv's Top 100 plays in BYU Football TV history (updated 12/12/20 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYzgPw-bQ_c)