Southern Miss Golden Eagles vs Tennessee Volunteers Match Player Stats On Nov 04, 2017

The Sports Xchange
Nov 4, 2017

Redemption was the name of the game for several Tennessee players as the Volunteers got a much-needed 24-10 win over Southern Mississippi on Saturday night at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn.

John Kelly, who returned from a one-game suspension after being arrested for alleged marijuana possession, led the Vols with 79 yards and two rushing touchdowns.

The Tennessee victory is a welcome one in Rocky Top for a Vols program (4-5) that went winless during October. The game, however, was swung in the Volunteers' favor by a Vols defense that forced two turnovers in the third quarter.

Emmanuel Moseley's first interception of the year quashed the first sustained drive of the night for Southern Mississippi (5-4). The return set up Kelly's 20-yard touchdown run on the next play to give the Vols a 17-3 lead.

Tennessee kept the momentum in its favor on Southern Mississippi's next drive when Darrell Taylor stripped Eagles quarterback Keon Howard for a fumble recovered by Rashaan Gaulden.

Taylor returned to the Volunteers' lineup last week after serving a two-game suspension for a violation of team rules.

Six plays after Taylor's sack, Kelly was in the end zone with another touchdown, this time on a 3-yard burst. That put the Vols up 24-3 and essentially sealed Tennessee's first win since Sept. 23. Taylor added a sack on the Eagles' final drive.

Tennessee's momentum was tempered in the fourth quarter by a Vols offense that punted on five straight possessions.

Kwadra Griggs replaced Howard in the final quarter and punched in a 1-yard touchdown run for the Eagles with 6:45 remaining to cut the deficit to 24-10.

Jarrett Guarantano got the Vols on the board with the game's first score on a 3-yard keeper in the first quarter. The sophomore quarterback finished 9-of-13 passing for 102 yards.

Freshman Will McBride also saw action under center, completing 1 of 8 attempts for 13 yards.

Aaron Medley added a 38-yard field goal to round out the scoring.

Tennessee played a disciplined game and wasn't flagged until the fourth quarter. Officials penalized Jay Hopson's squad 14 times for 120 yards, 15 of them earned by the head coach for an unsportsmanlike conduct call that gave the Vols new life on Kelly's second touchdown drive.