Tennessee Struggles Past Lowly North Texas, 24-0

Kamara Rushes For 127 Yards, Scores 2 Touchdowns

  • Saturday, November 14, 2015
  • Larry Fleming
Tailback Alvin Kamara scores the first of his two touchdowns Saturday in Tennessee's 24-0 victory over North Texas at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville. Kamara rushed for 127 yards in the Vols' sixth win.
Tailback Alvin Kamara scores the first of his two touchdowns Saturday in Tennessee's 24-0 victory over North Texas at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville. Kamara rushed for 127 yards in the Vols' sixth win.
photo by Dennis Norwood

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee was coming off emotional wins against South Carolina and Kentucky and came into Saturday’s game against lowly North Texas as a 40-point favorite.

They Vols had the opportunity to blow the Mean Green right out of Neyland Stadium, something four other college teams have easily accomplished this season.

However, a funny thing happened.

Tennessee (6-4) played at the same inspirational level as witnessed in past games against teams like Rutgers and Wyoming.

The Vols, to their credit, did enough offensively to beat North Texas, 24-0, before 91,197 fans – the only home crowd below 100,000 this season – at Neyland Stadium on a day when crisp, sunny weather and a bad Shields-Watkins Field turf became prominent storylines.

“Just because our offense wasn’t in rhythm doesn’t mean the whole team wasn’t in rhythm,” Vols tailback Alvin Kamara said.

Kamara was in a better rhythm than anyone on offense, rushing for 127 yards and two touchdowns, his second 100-yard performance. He went for 144 yards against Bowling Green in the season opener.

“It felt good getting those touches,” Kamara said.

Most of the fans – it was the Vols’ first crowd under 100,000 this season – had seen enough midway through the third quarter and started pouring out of the stadium. There weren’t many at all left when the final seconds ticked off the clock.

“There isn’t a ‘U’ behind the ‘W’ that stands for ugly win,” Vols coach Butch Jones said. “They’re all wins. … We had a good week of preparation, but it was just one of those games. I could sit here and tell you (it was) the first noon game, but I’m not making excuses. It is what it is.”

Two positives for the Vols in the uninspiring victory was their first shutout since a 45-0 win over Austin Peay in the 2013 season opener and they’re already bowl eligible for the second straight year. They didn’t secure a bowl last year until the final game.

“It feels great,” said Vols linebacker Darrin Kirkland Jr. of the shutout. “Any time you have a defense that pitches a shutout, it just shows the hard work that we put in all year.”

Kirkland led the Vols with eight tackles.

North Texas interim coach Mike Canales gave a lot of credit to Tennessee’s defense for his team gaining just 199 yards, the lowest for the Vols since holding UT-Martin to 142 in a 50-0 win in the 2013 season opener.

“I wish we could have put some points on the field, but that’s a top-notch defense in the SEC,” he said.

The shutout was Tennessee’s first since beat Austin Peay, 45-0, in 2013.

In the coming week, someone will have to light a fire under the Vols’ offense before heading to Columbia to play the Missouri Tigers, who learned next week that veteran coach Gary Pinkel will step down at season’s end due to health reasons.

That comes on the heels of week-long on-campus racial tensions that led the school’s president to resign. Pinkel had backed a potential player’s boycott of all activities, including practice, related to football.

The fact remains, however, that Tennessee failed to do what four other teams did and that’s to pummel Mean Green (1-9), who have lost 39 of their last 40 non-conference road games.

Iowa, the team Tennessee blasted in the TaxSlayer Bowl last January, rolled past North Texas, 62-16.

Portland State demolished the Mean Green, 66-7, last month and coach Dan McCarney was immediately fired five games into the season.

Western Kentucky won, 55-28, in the first game Canales served as the interim coach.

Louisiana Tech clobbered the Mean Green, 56-13.

But not Tennessee.

When Jones called for “positivity” pertaining to his football program, fans were bristling following the Vols’ offense laying an egg.

The Vols outgained the Mean Green 409-199, but scored only 17 points through three quarters against a North Texas defense, ranked 75th nationally, that had been yielding 45.6 points per game.

Tennessee started the game looking like the same squad that crushed rival Kentucky, 52-21, two weeks ago in Lexington.

Kamara scored on a 27-yard to cap the Vols’ opening 56-yard drive just 1 minute, nine seconds into the game.

After one quarter, Tennessee led a team, 7-0, that came into the contest having been outscored 101-6 in the first 15 minutes this season.

Jalen Hurd leaped into the end zone from 1 yard out – the score was set up by a 26-yard pass from quarterback Joshua Dobbs to Jauan Jennings on the final play of the first quarter – to push the score to 14-0.

Hurd finished with 72 yards on 15 carries and Dobb threw for 136 yards, completing 15-of-23 attempts. Quinten Dormady, a true freshman from Boerne, Tex., relieved Dobbs with 11:15 left, went 3-for-5 for 35 yards.

“I wanted to get Quinten into the game at the end of the first quarter for that 1-minute drive,” Jones said. “We have confidence in him at any time of the game.”

Aaron Medley kicked a 34-yard field goal, extending the lead to 17-0 with 2:41 left in the first half.

The Vols, reassured by the fact their defense was able to shut out the Mean Green for the first time since Alabama did it in 2011, failed to score again until Kamara darted 15 with 13:47 remaining in the game.

“That’s what we expect out of Alvin,” Dobbs said. “We know the type of playmaker he is when he gets his hands on the ball. It’s great to have that weapon.”

During and after the game a lot of the conversation surrounded the condition of the natural turf.

“People were slipping around, but both teams were having to deal with it,” Vols defensive lineman Derek Barnett said.

From early in the 3-hour, 1-minute game – shorted of the season -- huge chunks of grass were visible all over the field and workers were busy long after the stadium emptied trying to fix the damage.

“We will do everything we can on the field,” Jones said, “but I’ve got to worry about getting this team ready for the next two weeks and playing our best football.”

The final two games were heavy on offensive lineman Kyler Kerbyson’s mind.

“Vanderbilt is our rival, so we always want to win that game no matter what,” he said. “Missouri has had our number for the past few years. We want to get that monkey off our back. We aren’t playing these games to get in a better bowl. We are trying to play these games to win.”

SCORING

North Texas                                    0 0 0 0 – 0

Tennessee                                      7 10 0 7 – 24  

First Quarter

UT – Alvin Kamara 27 run (Aaron Medley kick), 13:51

Second Quarter

UT – Jalen Hurd 1 run (Medley kick), 14:57

Fourth Quarter

UT – Kamara 15 run (Medley kick), 13:47

Attendance: 96,197

YARDSTICK

                                                          NT                         UT

First Downs                                       14                           24          

Rushes-Yards                                    32-92                      48-237

Passing Yards                                   107                         172

Att-Comp-Int                                      13-26-0                   18-28-1

Plays-Total Yds                                 58-199                    76-409

Fumbles-Lost                                     2-0                         1-0

Punts-Avg                                         8-39.6                     5-35.8

Penalties-Yds                                    5-35                        2-10

INDIVIDUALS

RUSHING – North Texas: Jeffrey Wilson 14-52, Willy Ivery 4-44, Antoinne Jimmerson 2-3, Team 1-minus 1, DaMarcus Smith 11-minus 6; Tennessee: Alvin Kamara 15-127, Jalen Hurd 15-72, Joe Young 4-17, John Kelly 5-15, Quinten Dormady 4-6, Joshua Dobbs 4-3, Von Pearson 1-minus 3.

PASSING – North Texas: D. Smith 12-25-0 103, Eric Keena 1-1-0 4; Tennessee: Dobbs 15-23-1 136, Dormady 3-5-0 36.

RECEIVING – North Texas: Marcus Smith 5-46, Turner Smiley 3-21, Carlos Harris 2-20, O’Keeron Rutherford 1-9, Wilson 1-7, Andrew Tucker 1-4. Tennessee: Josh Malone 4-38, Josh Smith 2-28, Jennings 1-24, Pearson 3-24, Hurd 2-23, Johnathon Johnson 3-20, Kamara 1-5, Alex Ellis 1-5, Ethan Wolf 1-3.

(E-mail Larry Fleming at larryfleming44@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @larryfleming44)

 

 

For most of Saturday's game, Tennessee defenders, from left, Derek Barnett (9), Corey Vereen (50), Chris Weatherd (42) and Micah Abernathy (3), were in synchronized pursuit of North Texas quarterback DaMarcus Smith, who passed for 103 yards, but was held to minus-6 on the ground.
For most of Saturday's game, Tennessee defenders, from left, Derek Barnett (9), Corey Vereen (50), Chris Weatherd (42) and Micah Abernathy (3), were in synchronized pursuit of North Texas quarterback DaMarcus Smith, who passed for 103 yards, but was held to minus-6 on the ground.
photo by Dennis Norwood
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