Live Updates: No. 23 Tennessee 45, UTSA 14 (Final)

No. 23 Tennessee looks to rebound after last week’s loss at Florida while hosting UTSA Saturday afternoon at Neyland Stadium. The Vols and Roadrunners are scheduled for a 4 p.m. Eastern Time start in Knoxville, with the game broadcast set for SEC Network.

The Vols (2-1) fell 29-16 to the Gators at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville last week, after a mistake-riddled first half helped Florida to a 19-point lead at halftime. Tennessee started the season with a 49-13 win over Virginia at Nissan Stadium in Nashville on September 2 and beat Austin Peay 30-13 in the home opener at Neyland Stadium on September 9.

Follow along for all the live in-game updates all day on The General’s Quarters

UTSA (1-2) is coming off a 37-29 loss to Army last Friday night. The Roadrunners started the season with a 17-14 loss at Houston and followed with a win over Texas State a week later.

Fourth Quarter

Tennessee 45, UTSA 14 (10:17): Have a day, Dylan Sampson. Tennessee scored on a two-play, 70-yard touchdown drive and every yard came from the sophomore running back. First it was a 29-yard run on first-and-10 at the Tennessee 30, then a 41-yard touchdown run on the next snap. The runs gave Sampson 139 yards and two touchdowns on 11 carries.

Tennessee 38, UTSA 14 (12:42, 4Q): The Vols finally found an answer after a sluggish third quarter, with Jabari Small scoring on a 1-yard run to cap a 12-play, 66-yard touchdown drive with 12:42 left in the fourth quarter. Tennessee punted three times in the third quarter, after scoring four touchdowns and kicking a field goal on seven possessions in the first half.

Third Quarter

Tennessee 31, UTSA 7 (7:32, 3Q): UTSA got on the scoreboard with a 15-play, 75-yard touchdown drive to start the second half. Owen McCown, who replaced Eddie Lee Marburger to start the third quarter, threw a 3-yard touchdown to Joshua Cephus. 

Tennessee 31, UTSA 14 (5:16, 3Q): UTSA got back in the end zone on its second possession of the second half after Owen McCown connected with Tykee Ogle-Kellogg, a product of Alcoa High School, on a 43-yard touchdown to get the Roadrunners back within 17.

Halftime

Joe Milton completed 14 of 21 passes for 156 yards and two touchdowns and rushed five times for 89 yards and another touchdown in the first half. Dylan Sampson led the running backs with 58 yards on five carries and Jabari Small had two attempts for 40 yards. Jaylen Wright ran four times for 16 yards.

Squirrel White caught four passes for 29 yards in the first half, Bru McCoy had three catches for 30 yards and Ramel Keyton and Kaleb Webb had touchdown catches of 48 and 18 yards, respectively.

Tennessee’s defense held UTSA to 98 total yards, with 37 on the ground and 61 passing. The Roadrunners went 3-for-11 on third down. 

Second Quarter

Tennessee 31, UTSA 0 (3:21, 2Q): Dylan Sampson ripped of a 44-yard run on the second play of the drive, but the Vols stalled at the UTSA 6 with a run for 0 yards and an incomplete pass from Joe Milton to Squirrel White in the end zone. Charles Campbell connected on a 29-yard field goal after missing a 52-yarder in the first quarter.

Tennessee 28, UTSA 0 (11:10, 2Q): UTSA had 12 players on the field and it still didn’t matter. Joe Milton put a perfect deep ball into the end zone for Ramel Keyton, who hauled in the 48-yard touchdown for a 28-0 lead. The touchdown drive went 60 yards on four plays and included an 11-yard pass from Milton to Squirrel White to convert on third-and-9, one play before the long touchdown pass.

Tennessee 21, UTSA 0 (14:23, 2Q): The Vols were back in the end zone early in the second quarter after Milton found Kaleb Webb for an 18-yard touchdown pass. The two-play, 57 yard touchdown drive was fueled by a 40-yard run from Jabari Small on first down.

First Quarter

Tennessee 14, UTSA 0 (10:03, 1Q): Dylan Sampson is back in the running back rotation. His first touch on Saturday was a 6-yard touchdown run, his fifth trip to the end zone in a little more than two games this season. The sophomore came in from Jaylen Wright, after Wright’s helmet came off on the previous play. The touchdown drive went 62 yards in nine plays and took two minutes, 56 seconds. Tennessee’s defense forced a UTSA three-and-out set up the second touchdown drive.

Tennessee 7, UTSA 0 (14:40, 1Q): The Vols needed just one play to get to the end zone. Joe Milton III faked a handoff to Jaylen Wright and went around the left side for an 81-yard touchdown run. He got a block on the perimeter from Bru McCoy and outraced the Roadrunner defense to the end zone to get Tennessee on the board 20 seconds into the game.