Rapid Reaction: Joey Aguilar throws 3 touchdown passes as Tennessee downs Syracuse
By Ethan Stone
Published:
Tennessee football is officially 1-0 under quarterback Joey Aguilar. And he had a dang good afternoon, if I do say so myself.
The Vols dispatched Syracuse following a good first half and a shaky second half. A pair of incoming transfers – Aguilar on offense and Colton Hood on defense – led the way in what turned out to be a 45-26 win in Atlanta.
Tennessee was dominant to start this one. The Vols had a good opening drive that ended in a field goal, followed by a touchdown rush from sophomore running back Peyton Lewis. Aguilar then fumbled a handoff to Star Thomas the ensuing drive, but Tennessee’s defense responded the very next play with a strip by Nathan Robinson, which was scooped up by Hood and taken to the house. Just like that, it was 17-0, Vols.
Then the fireworks started. Aguilar, following a much-needed touchdown drive by Syracuse QB Steve Angeli, uncorked a beautiful deep ball to Braylon Staley for a 73-yard touchdown. And when I say it was a perfect throw, I mean it – Aguilar could not have thrown the ball any better.
The second half is when things got a little dicey. For starters, Tennessee – especially defensively – just could not stay healthy. Rickey Gibson, Nathan Robinson, Jaxson Moi, Arion Carter and Ty Redmond, among others, left the field with injuries at some point.
Perhaps partly because of this, Syracuse would not go away in the late stages of the game. Angeli led a couple of touchdown drives, but ultimately Colton Hood’s pass breakup on third down deep in Tennessee territory all but sealed it.
Joey Aguilar found Miles Kitselman for his 3rd passing touchdown of the day to cap it all off. He finished with 247 passing yards and 3 touchdowns, with an average of 8.8 yards per pass.
Tennessee will be back in action next week as the Vols play ETSU in their home opener at Neyland Stadium.
Tennessee 45, Syracuse 26
Here’s the Tennessee-Syracuse box score (use the dropdown menu to select team or player stats), followed by the complete play-by-play:
Joey Aguilar vs Steve Angeli
A statistical breakdown of how Tennessee’s Joey Aguilar performed against Syracuse counterpart Steve Angeli:
Ethan Stone is a Tennessee graduate and loves all things college football and college basketball. Firm believer in fouling while up 3.
