No. 1 Alabama trounces No. 9 Tennessee in 49-10 runaway

 Jalen Hurts and Bo Scarbrougheach rushed for over 100 yards Saturday and No. 1 Alabama again got points from its defense and special teams in a 49-10 blowout of No. 9 Tennessee.

Alabama (7-0, 4-0 SEC) earned its 19th straight victory overall and its 10th consecutive win in this annual series. Tennessee (5-2, 2-2) has lost its last 13 games against Southeastern Conference Western Division schools.

It was the most lopsided victory by either team in this rivalry since a 51-0 Alabama victory in 1906.

Hurts, the Crimson Tide's freshman quarterback, ran for 132 yards and three touchdowns as Alabama outrushed Tennessee 438-32. Scarborough rushed for 109 yards on just five carries, including an 85-yard touchdown.

Alabama posted its highest single-game rushing total since running for 457 yards in a 56-28 victory over Tennessee in 1986.

The Tide also scored on Ronnie Williams' 58-yard interception return and Eddie Jackson's 79-yard punt return. Alabama has 11 non-offensive touchdowns this season, including eight from its defense. The Tide entered the day leading all Football Bowl Subdivision teams in both categories.

Tennessee had erased double-digit deficits in five of its first six games - including a 45-38 loss at Texas A&M last week in which it forced overtime after trailing 28-7 - but the Volunteers couldn't deliver a similar comeback this time.

Alabama was too good and Tennessee was too hurt.

Tennessee was playing a ranked opponent for the fourth straight week, a stretch that has taken a physical toll.

Injuries decimated the Vols' defense to such an extent that linebacker Elliott Berry, cornerback Baylen Buchanan and defensive tackle Kahlil McKenzie made their first career starts. McKenzie left in the first quarter after he appeared to hurt his shoulder.

On offense, injuries sidelined guard Jashon Robertson and center Dylan Wiesman for the entire game and knocked out Brett Kendrick in the first quarter. The only starting lineman from last week's loss to Texas A&M who played the majority of Saturday's game was right guard Jack Jones.

THE TAKEAWAY

This game showcased the versatility of Alabama's rushing attack as the Tide threatened to have three 100-yard rushers in one game. Damien Harris rushed for 94 yards on 14 carries.

Alabama's defense arguably was even more impressive as it suffocated a Tennessee offense that had gained 684 yards against Texas A&M one week earlier.

Tennessee: The Vols' off week comes at an ideal time as they attempt to get healthier. Even in a losing cause, Derek Barnett showed why he belongs in any conversation of the nation's top defensive players. Barnett recorded a sack and forced a fumble to set up Tennessee's first touchdown and later ended an Alabama scoring threat by making his first career interception.

UP NEXT

Alabama: In its third straight game against a ranked team, Alabama hosts No. 6 Texas A&M.

Tennessee: The Vols have the week off before visiting South Carolina on Oct. 29.

Knight's TD run in double OT gives No. 8 A&M 45-38 win

 Trevor Knight had a 1-yard touchdown run in the second overtime and No. 8 Texas A&M withstood another late Tennessee rally to beat the No. 9 Volunteers 45-38 on Saturday.

After Knight bulled in for the touchdown, Armani Wattsintercepted Joshua Dobbs' pass on the next play for Tennessee's seventh turnover to end the game.

The teams exchanged field goals in the first overtime.

Knight threw for 239 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 110 yards and three more scores.

The Volunteers (5-1, 2-1 Southeastern Conference) had rallied from double-digit deficits to win four of their last five games, including last week's last-play victory over Georgia. They trailed by 21 points in the third quarter Saturday thanks to six turnovers before tying it on Alvin Kamara's 18-yard touchdown reception with 41 seconds left.

Texas A&M (6-0, 4-0) had a chance to win it in regulation, but Daniel LaCamera's 38-yard field goal attempt sailed wide left.

The Aggies could have put this one away with less than 2 minutes remaining, but freshman Trayveon Williamshad the ball knocked from his hands and out of the back of the end zone just before he crossed the goal line on a 71-yard run.

Texas A&M was facing third-and-2 when Knight dashed 62 yards for a touchdown that pushed the lead to 35-21 with about three minutes left. Kamara's 4-yard run about a minute later made it a one-score game.

The Aggies built a 21-7 lead in the first quarter after three fumbles by Tennessee. Knight threw touchdown passes of 13 and 2 yards and had a 7-yard TD run in the opening frame.

Saturday continued a trend of bad starts for the Volunteers, who have been outscored 62-17 in the first quarter this season.

THE TAKEAWAY

TENNESSEE: The Volunteers finally learned that they can't give good teams such a big cushion and expect to come back again and again. They'll have to find a way to get off to a better start and cure their turnover woes if they expect to compete with No. 1 Alabama next week.

TEXAS A&M: Texas A&M's defense again showed it is the strength of this team by forcing the flurry of turnovers and pressuring Dobbs all day long. The offense needs to be more consistent for the Aggies to have a chance to topple Alabama in two weeks.

UP NEXT

TENNESSEE: The Volunteers host Alabama next Saturday.

TEXAS A&M: Texas A&M has a week off before traveling to face the top-ranked Crimson Tide on Oct. 22.

Tennessee beats Georgia 34-31 with TD pass on final play

 Jauan Jennings hauled in a 43-yard Hail Mary from Joshua Dobbs on the final play, giving No. 11 Tennessee a stunning 34-31 victory over No. 25 Georgia after the Bulldogs appeared to win the game on a long TD pass of their own with 10 seconds remaining Saturday.

The Vols (5-0, 2-0 Southeastern Conference) rallied from a double-digit deficit for the fourth time in five games, but this was their most improbable comeback yet. The SEC East rivals packed a whole game's worth of action into the closing minutes as Tennessee went ahead for the first time all afternoon by recovering a fumble by Georgia (3-2, 1-2) in the end zone with 2:56 to go.

Then, after the Bulldogs threw an interception but got the ball back one more time, Jacob Eason tossed a 47-yard touchdown pass to fellow freshman Riley Ridley. With the Sanford Stadium crowd in a frenzy, Tennessee took the kickoff into position to take one shot at the end zone.

Dobbs hurled a towering pass that the 6-foot-3 Jennings didn't really have that much trouble bringing down . He leaped above the scrum to make the catch, and then landed on his back for the score that sent the Tennessee bench charging on the field to celebrate.

"I just know to go get it," Jennings said. "I just grabbed the ball and brought it in."

Georgia built a 17-0 lead in the first half but was clinging to a 24-21 edge when it got the ball deep in its own territory late in the fourth quarter.

Risking a pass from his own end zone, Eason tried to pull the ball down and was crushed by two Tennessee defenders, Derek Barnett and Cortez McDowell. The ball came loose and Corey Vereen fell on it for a touchdown.

Turns out, these teams were just getting warmed up.

Eason had another turnover, this one an interception by Malik Foreman. But Georgia used a couple of its timeouts, held defensively and got the ball back again. This time, the young quarterback came through, quickly driving the Bulldogs past midfield. After their final timeout, Eason found Ridley streaking behind two defenders down the left sideline, delivering a pass that the young receiver took in stride, seemingly giving Georgia an improbable win.

Not so fast.

An excessive celebration penalty forced the Bulldogs to kick off from their own 20, and Evan Berry's 20-yard return got the Vols in range to throw one up. When Jennings brought it down, Tennessee coach Butch Davis sank to his knees, overcome with emotion, while Vols running back Alvin Kamara sprawled out on his back, seemingly in disbelief.

"It was a crazy play, stuff you dream about," Dobbs said.

THE TAKEAWAY

Tennessee: The Vols have shown remarkable resilience while gaining a commanding position in the SEC East. They keep getting off to sluggish starts, but keep finding ways to win. Now, they have victories over both Florida and Georgia, likely to be their two leading challengers in the division race. That not only puts Tennessee ahead in the standings, but provides a tiebreaker edge that could come in handy by the end of the season.

Georgia: The Bulldogs have now lost two in a row in the SEC, a huge blow to their hopes of contending for a division championship in Kirby Smart's first season as coach. It will be interesting to see how they bounce back from such a devastating loss.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

Tennessee could move back into the Top 10, while Georgia is sure to tumble out of the rankings for the first time this season when The Associated Press poll comes out Sunday. The Bulldogs barely hung on to the final spot after their big loss at Ole Miss.

UP NEXT

Tennessee: The Vols are facing their third straight game against a ranked opponent, and another tough one on the road, when they travel to College Station to take on No. 9 Texas A&M (5-0). It doesn't get any easier after that, either. No. 1 Alabama visits Neyland Stadium on Oct. 15, finishing off the toughest part of Tennessee's schedule.

Georgia: The Bulldogs hit the road to face another SEC East rival, South Carolina.

Dobbs rallies No. 14 Vols to 38-28 win over No. 19 Gators

This time, Tennessee delivered the comeback.

And in the process, the Volunteers took out 11 years' worth of frustration on Florida.

Joshua Dobbs accounted for five second-half touchdowns Saturday and No. 14 Tennessee erased a 21-point deficit to beat No. 19 Florida 38-28 and end their 11-game losing streak in the annual series.

"I didn't see anybody blink," Tennessee coach Butch Jones said. "Nobody flinched. They just kept playing."

This marks the first time Tennessee (4-0, 1-0 SEC) has beaten Florida (3-1, 1-1) since 2004. The Volunteers had lost to Florida by one point each of the last two years despite leading in the fourth quarter of both games.

Florida was so confident it would continue the streak that Gators cornerbackQuincy Wilson boldly said this week that "nobody has ever seen a duck pull a truck . Florida Gators are going to win, simple as that."

Tennessee silenced the Gators by reeling off 38 consecutive points.

"I just kept looking at their body language on the sideline, and it was bad," said Tennessee defensive end Derek Barnett, who recorded two sacks. "I think they worried about talking too much (rather than) focusing on playing football, and it showed at the end."

Tennessee safety Todd Kelly Jr. added that "it just looked like we took their soul, really."

Dobbs went 16 of 32 for 319 yards with four touchdowns and two interceptions. He also rushed for 80 yards and a touchdown.

Trailing 21-0 early against the nation's top-ranked defense, Tennessee stormed back and pulled ahead for good 24-21 with 12:45 left on Dobbs' 67-yard completion to a wide-open Jauan Jennings, who bobbled the ball a few times near the right sideline before making the catch while staying inbounds.

"They came in and took it to us," Florida coach Jim McElwain said. "It's disappointing. We've got a bunch of guys hurting in the locker room. ... These are life lessons. Not every day does everything go just like you wanted. I think the key is what you learn from it and how you're going to respond."

Florida took an early 21-0 advantage on a pair of Austin Appleby touchdown passes and a 1-yard run by Jordan Scarlett. Both Appleby touchdown passes were set up by long completions from Appleby to Antonio Callaway. The Gators led 21-3 at halftime.

Appleby threw three touchdown passes and one interception while starting in place of Luke Del Rio, who injured his left knee last week in a 32-0 rout of North Texas.

Twice in the first half, Tennessee got inside Florida's 5-yard line and failed to score.

"We came into the locker room and we said, `Don't panic,'" Dobbs said. "It was simple. We've just got to execute. We've just got to play our brand of football. We were moving the ball on them the whole game."

THE TAKEAWAY

FLORIDA: Perhaps the Gators' defense isn't quite as good as its statistics suggested. A defense that had been allowing just 4.7 points and 129.7 yards per game couldn't keep Tennessee's offense out of the end zone in the second half. Of course, that defense didn't get any help from an offense that disappeared during Tennessee's comeback.

The Gators' second-half collapse will raise questions about their ability to handle adversity.

TENNESSEE: Dobbs' second-half performance answered questions about his accuracy and Tennessee's downfield passing attack.

After going 7 of 20 for 84 yards with an interception in the first half, Dobbs was 9 of 12 for 235 yards and four touchdowns and an interception the rest of the way. His second-half interception came on Tennessee's first series of the third quarter. After that turnover, Dobbs led Tennessee into the end zone on five of its next six drives.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

Tennessee, which was ninth in the preseason poll, should move back into the top-10 this week. Florida likely will sink toward the bottom of the Top 25.

KEY NUMBERS

Tennessee has trailed by double digits in three of its four wins this season. .... This matched the third-biggest comeback in Tennessee history. ... Tennessee outgained Florida 154-8 in the third quarter. ... Tennessee has won 10 straight games over the last two seasons.

UP NEXT

FLORIDA: The Gators visit Vanderbilt.

TENNESSEE: The Volunteers travel to No. 12 Georgia.

No. 15 Tennessee holds off 4-TD underdogs Ohio 28-19

 Joshua Dobbs threw a pair of 20-yard touchdown passes to Josh Malone and ran for a third score as No. 15 Tennessee overcame injuries and a suspension to hold off pesky Ohio 28-19 on Saturday.

Tennessee (3-0) played without four starters - three were injured and defensive back Malik Foreman was suspended for team rules violations. During the first half, the Volunteers (3-0) lost two of its team captains to injuries - cornerback Cam Sutton and linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin.

Vols coach Butch Jones said Sutton would be out "an extended period of time." Jones was optimistic Reeves-Maybin could return as early as next week but said the linebacker's status remained uncertain.

"When those two went down, we all got together as a defense and we were determined we were going to win this game for those two," Tennessee linebacker Cortez McDowell said.

Tennessee scored 38 seconds into the game on the first TD pass from Dobbs to Malone. The Vols continued to lead the rest of the way, though Ohio stayed close throughout.

Ohio, a 27-point underdog, was within 21-19 when Dobbs and Malone connected again with 11:07 left in the game. Ohio (1-2) wouldn't threaten again.

Malone has caught four of Dobbs' six touchdown passes this season.

"Our goal was to be 3-0 at this time, and we're 3-0... but I think every person would tell you to a person we've got to be a lot better going into conference play," Jones said.

Ohio's Louie Zervos was 4 of 4 on field-goal attempts and Sebastian Smith caught nine passes for 156 yards.

The Bobcats were seeking their second straight win over a Power Five opponent after winning 37-21 at Kansas last week.

"They've got a good football team," Ohio coach Frank Solich said of Tennessee. "They're very athletic and they played hard. All in all it was good football game. We just kind of ran out of bodies."

THE TAKEAWAY

Ohio: The Bobcats have never beaten a Top 25 team but had a real chance to pull off a history-making victory if they'd capitalized on opportunities. Ohio didn't recover any of Tennessee's five fumbles, and the Bobcats' offense continually settled for short field-goal attempts rather than reaching the end zone. Jones said the red-zone efficiency for both teams was the difference in the game.

The failure to finish drives has been a recurring problem for Ohio, as Zervos is 13 of 14 on field-goal attempts through the first three games of the season.

Tennessee: Injuries on defense and struggles on offense offer plenty of cause for concern as Tennessee prepares to enter Southeastern Conference competition. Tennessee shuffled its offensive line Saturday but continued to have trouble controlling the line of scrimmage against an Ohio defense that hadn't distinguished itself in its first two games.

UP NEXT

Ohio hosts Football Championship program Gardner-Webb in its last game before opening Mid-American Conference play.

Tennessee hosts No. 23 Florida, which has beaten the Volunteers each of the last 11 seasons. This starts a stretch of four consecutive games against ranked teams. Tennessee visits No. 16 Georgia on Oct. 1 and No. 17 Texas A&M on Oct. 8 before hosting No. 1 Alabama on Oct. 15.

Record crowd watches No. 17 Vols beat Virginia Tech 45-24

Tennessee erased an early 14-point deficit at Bristol Motor Speedway almost as fast as drivers typically race around the half-mile track that circled the makeshift football field.

Joshua Dobbs threw three touchdown passes and ran for two more scores Saturday night as the 17th-ranked Volunteers beat Virginia Tech 45-24 in front of an NCAA-record crowd of 156,990 at Bristol Motor Speedway.

The crowd total shattered the previous NCAA record of 115,109 who attended a Michigan victory over Notre Dame at Michigan Stadium in 2013.

"Just an unbelievable spectacle," Tennessee coach Butch Jones said. "I think the reality hit our players when we came here yesterday for the walk through with all the campers and trailers again this is truly a special evening that we'll remember for a lifetime."

Virginia Tech (1-1) outscored Tennessee 14-0 and outgained the Vols 204-28 in the first quarter. Tennessee (2-0) responded by scoring 31 straight points, including 24 in the second period.

Dobbs ran for 106 yards on 14 carries, one week after being held to negative rushing yards in a 20-13 overtime victory over Appalachian State. He was 10 of 19 for 91 yards through the air and threw touchdown passes to Jauan Jennings, Josh Malone and Alvin Kamara.

"We just executed," Dobbs said. "In the first quarter, there was really no reason to panic. We knew that we were going to have to score more than 14 points if we wanted to win this ballgame. There's just that expectation and confidence throughout the unit that we'll be fine, we'll go out, make our plays and our time will come."

Tennessee's Micah Abernathy set a school single-game record with three fumble recoveries. Virginia Tech ended up losing five fumbles, and three of those turnovers resulted in Tennessee touchdowns. The Hokies have lost nine fumbles through their first two games.

"We've obviously got to do a better job either teaching or understanding or emphasizing ball security," Virginia Tech coach Justin Fuente said. "We're inadequate, to say the least, right now."

Jalen Hurd ran for 99 yards on 22 carries. Virginia Tech's Travon McMillian rushed 14 times for 127 yards, including a 69-yard touchdown.

The turning point of the game came when Abernathy recovered a fumble on the Virginia Tech 5 in the opening play of the second quarter. Dobbs found Jennings in the end zone on the next play.

Tennessee's next three drives resulted in a 38-yard touchdown pass from Dobbs to Malone, an Aaron Medley 34-yard field goal and a Dobbs 5-yard touchdown run.

THE TAKEAWAY

Virginia Tech: The Hokies simply must do a better job of protecting the football. Virginia Tech's dominant first-quarter performance showed the Hokies' potential, but they can't keep hurting themselves with turnovers and ill-timed penalties. Virginia Tech players said the breakdowns may have resulted from a bad week of practice.

"As a leader, I will do a better job of making sure my guys are in tune," Virginia Tech quarterback Jerod Evans said. "I put this all on me."

Tennessee: After averaging just below 3 yards per carry against Appalachian State, the Vols regrouped this week and ran the ball much more effectively. The Vols still must improve their passing attack and gain consistency along the offensive line.

SPEEDWAY TO STADIUM

This marked the first football game to take place at the Bristol Motor Speedway since the Washington Redskins and Philadelphia Eagles played a 1961 exhibition game here that drew 10,000 fans to a facility that seated 20,000 at the time.

Work began on the speedway's temporary conversion into a football stadium the morning after a Sprint Cup race three weeks ago. The facility will host a Football Championship Subdivision game between East Tennessee State and Western Carolina on Sept. 17.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

Tennessee tumbled eight spots in the Top 25 after the Appalachian State game, but this decisive victory could get the Vols back into the top 15.

UP NEXT

Virginia Tech: The Hokies host Boston College on Saturday in their Atlantic Coast Conference opener. Boston College (1-1) will be coming off a 26-7 victory over Massachusetts.

Tennessee: The Vols host Ohio on Saturday. Ohio won 37-21 at Kansas this week.

No. 9 Tennessee escapes with OT win over Appalachian State

Exactly nine years to the day after it pulled off one of the greatest upsets in college football history, Appalachian State nearly did it again.

A couple of missed kicks and an inability to recover an overtime fumble prevented the Mountaineers from getting it done.

Jalen Hurd pounced on quarterback Joshua Dobbs' fumble in the end zone and No. 9 Tennessee overcame a 10-point halftime deficit to escape with a 20-13 victory over Appalachian State on Thursday night.

"It's definitely heartbreaking," said Appalachian State's Marcus Cox, who rushed for 115 yards. "I feel like we put ourselves in position to win, and we just didn't capitalize when we should have."

Appalachian State was trying to stage a repeat of its 2007 upset of No. 5 Michigan, which marked the first time a Football Championship Subdivision program had beaten a Top 25 team. The Mountaineers have since left the FCS ranks and had their first season as a full-fledged Bowl Subdivision member last year.

Tennessee faced third-and-goal from the 2 when Dobbs ran to his right and lost control of the ball as he tried to stretch his arms across the goal line. Hurd won the scramble for the loose ball in the end zone to give the Volunteers their only lead of the night.

"I thought I was in, and then I just saw Jalen dive on the ball and I said, `All right, we're good. We scored,' " Dobbs said. "A touchdown's a touchdown."

Micah Abernathy ended the game by breaking up a pass into the end zone on fourth-and-5 from the 20.

The Vols tied it on Dobbs' 67-yard touchdown pass to Josh Malone with 10:30 left in regulation. Appalachian State redshirt freshman kicker Michael Rubino, who earlier missed an extra point, was wide right on a 42-yard field goal attempt with 5:24 remaining.

Rubino's miss wasted a 57-yard punt return by Jaquil Capel that gave Appalachian State the ball at the 28.

Tennessee entered the season with its highest ranking since 2006 after winning its final six games last year, but the Volunteers looked nothing like a Top 10 team Thursday. The Volunteers committed two first-half turnovers and lost linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin to a targeting penalty in the opening quarter as Appalachian State built a 13-3 lead.

"On a night where just about everything and anything went wrong, we found a way to win," Tennessee coach Butch Jones said.

Cam Sutton fumbled on a punt return and Appalachian State's Alex Gray recovered at Tennessee's 36 to set up the first touchdown, a 5-yard keeper from Taylor Lamb barely four minutes into the game. Appalachian State's other touchdown came in the second quarter on a 33-yard completion from Lamb to Cox.

THE TAKEAWAY

Appalachian State: The Mountaineers had lost by at least 28 points in each of their six meetings with Power Five teams since that Michigan game, but they showed Thursday that they could compete with college football's big-name programs. Appalachian State refused to get pushed around and kept Tennessee's offense out of the end zone for the first 49 1/2 minutes.

Cox showed he can run effectively against any team from any conference. Cox now has 4,203 career yards rushing to rank second among all active FBS players, behind San Diego State's Donnel Pumphrey.

Tennessee: The Vols vowed they weren't overlooking Appalachian State and weren't distracted by sky-high preseason expectations, but something was clearly missing Thursday.

The biggest question surrounding Tennessee during the offseason was whether it could add efficiency and explosiveness to its passing attack. That area remains a major concern. Dobbs went 16 of 29 for 192 yards with one touchdown and an interception.

"I'm never going to apologize for a win, guys," Jones said. "I think we've learned around here wins are pretty hard to come by."

KEY NUMBERS

Appalachian State reached Tennessee territory on four second-half possessions but failed to score on any of them. ... Appalachian State controlled the ball for 33 1/2 minutes to keep Tennessee's offense off the field. ... Tennessee rushed for just 127 yards on 43 carries. ... Dobbs, who ran for a combined 1,160 yards in 2014-15, had minus-4 yards rushing on nine carries.

UP NEXT

Appalachian State: The Mountaineers have their home opener Sept. 10 against Old Dominion. Appalachian State must avoid looking ahead to its Sept. 17 home game with Miami.

Tennessee: The Volunteers face Virginia Tech at the Bristol Motor Speedway. The Sept. 10 "Battle at Bristol" is expected to draw over 150,000 fans, which would mark the largest recorded attendance for a college football game.