Looking back on crucial moments that led Tennessee to the College Football Playoff

Tennessee is in the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff. The Vols are the No.9 seed and are set to square off against the No.8 seed, Ohio State, in Columbus on December 21st at 8:00 p.m. ET.

The road to the playoffs was not easy or always pretty for the Vols, as they managed through an offensive slump during the middle of the season, and suffered setbacks on the road at Arkansas and Georgia, while also hammering N.C. State in Charlotte, dominating Oklahoma in Norman, and winning nail-biters against bitter rivals Florida and Alabama in Neyland Stadium.

During this run to the playoffs, there were more, many more, than just the few plays listed that helped the Vols find their way into the twelve-team field. But, in this feature, Volquest looks back at five critical plays that led to Tennessee clinching its first College Football Playoff berth.

Will Brooks Pick Six Against N.C. State

Tennessee dominated N.C. State 51-10 in Charlotte, but the Wolfpack made it a contest in the early going. Tennessee jumped out to a 10-3 lead, but late in the second quarter, the Wolfpack started to drive deep into Vols territory. Veteran defensive end Joshua Josephs pressured Grayson McCall and made him put a little more loft on a ball to the tight end in the flats, and Will Brooks undercut it and ran it back 85 yards for a touchdown.

Tennessee proceeded to hammer N.C. State from that point forward and these types of plays became a common theme for the Vols’ defense over the course of the season.

Dont’e Thornton Hauls in 66-yard TD catch against Oklahoma

Tennessee’s offense struggled to find explosive plays on multiple occasions this fall. And after swapping early field goals in the first quarter in Norman, Josh Heupel and Joey Halzle dialed up a shot to Dont’e Thornton across the middle of the field against Oklahoma’s vaunted defense, and Nico Iamaleava put the ball on the money to his wide-receiver, and Thornton did the rest.

Tennessee did not need many points to win in Norman, but the Vols certainly needed this explosive play on the final play of the first quarter to give them some breathing room and keep the Sooners on their heels the rest of the night.

Dylan Sampson’s winning TD against Florida in OT

Tennessee’s offensive struggles were evident heading into this contest, and they were again shut out in the first half. Still, the Vols found a way down the stretch and made the necessary plays to beat their long-time rival in Neyland Stadium.

The game went into overtime after D.J. Lagway tied the game at 17 with a strike late in the fourth quarter. The Gators got the ball first and did not gain a single yard. They then missed the field goal, and the rest was history.

It took Tennessee five plays to go 25 yards and Dylan Sampson walked it off with a score.

Crucial Interceptions, Late TD Catch Propels Vols to win over Alabama

There were so many crucial plays throughout this game that helped Tennessee pull out a seven-point victory over Alabama.

Alabama looked poised to strike first in the closing minutes of the first quarter as they were set up inside the 5-yard line. Jalen Milroe targeted freshman Ryan Williams, but Jermod McCoy leaped up, snatched the ball out of the air with one hand and ran it back 54 yards to keep the Crimson Tide out of the end zone.

Again, the offense was shut out in the first half, and Nico Iamaleava struggled by throwing two interceptions. But he bounced back in the second half. An honorable mention for this would be the frozen rope he threw on the run to Dont’e Thornton to set up Tennessee’s second touchdown of the day.

But his biggest moment came late in the fourth quarter, with the Vols down four and threatening, Iamaleava dropped a dime to Chris Brazzell on a slot fade to put Tennessee in front for the rest of the way.

Again, the Vols’ defense made plays, as they had to keep Alabama out of the endzone three times in the last six minutes. Tim Banks’ defense stifled the Crimson Tide offense and held them to -1 yard on eight plays after Iamaleava’s go-ahead touchdown pass.

Alabama got the ball back one last time with 1:30 on the clock and veteran safety Will Brooks jumped in front of a Jalen Milroe pass to seal the deal for the Vols, as they were able to take two knees to end the game.

Thornton and McCoy make critical plays against Vandy to secure a CFP berth

Again, Tennessee made plenty of plays in this one to handle Vanderbilt down the stretch, but it was a rocky start for the Vols.

They spotted the Commodores fourteen points by allowing the opening kickoff to be returned for a touchdown, then fumbling just two plays later to set up another Vanderbilt score.

After falling behind, Tennessee quickly answered, thanks to a 28-yard strike from Iamaleava to Dont’e Thornton to open the scoring for the Vols.

Vandy managed a field goal, and Tennessee followed this by turning it over on downs. The Commodores looked poised to strike again, but they decided to test Jermod McCoy, who made an improbable interception in the end zone to kill the drive.

At the mid-point of the second quarter, Iamaleava hit Thornton again to tie the game. This time Thornton ran off and left the defenders for an 86-yard touchdown.

The Vols never looked back in this one, as Iamaleava connected for two more scores on the day, neither which should be overlooked, with one going to Mike Matthews and one going to Miles Kittselman.