Joey Aguilar threw for 247 yards and three touchdowns as No. 24 Tennessee topped Syracuse 45-26 on Saturday at Atlanta in the season opener for both teams.
Playing his first game for the Volunteers, Aguilar was a somewhat erratic 16-of-28 passing but benefited from a dominant rushing attack.
Tennessee averaged 6.2 yards per carry, including a strong performance from Star Thomas, who had 12 carries for 92 yards. DeSean Bishop (11 carries, 82 yards) and Peyton Lewis (eight carries, 38 yards) each scored a rushing touchdown.
Yasin Willis had three rushing touchdowns for Syracuse and finished with 91 yards on 23 carries. Steve Angeli, making his first start for the Orange, was 23-of-40 passing for 274 yards with one touchdown, one fumble and one interception.
The Volunteers jumped to a 17-0 lead in the first quarter.
After an early field goal, Tennessee unleashed a 12-play, 85-yard drive that Lewis punctuated with a 2-yard TD run. Late in the opening quarter, Angeli fumbled under pressure, and Colton Hood returned the ball 22 yards to make it 17-0.
Syracuse dented the scoreboard on Willis’ 2-yard TD run early in the second quarter. But on the second play of Tennessee’s next possession, Aguilar found Braylon Staley down the middle for a 73-yard catch-and-run to the end zone.
The teams experienced a similar sequence late in the first half. Angeli hooked up with Johntay Cook II for a 3-yard touchdown with just under two minutes to play, only for Tennessee to march back down the field, highlighted by Bishop’s 47-yard run that set up his own 1-yard TD plunge and a 31-14 advantage.
Angeli came out in the second half and threw a quick interception that led to an Aguilar 7-yard TD pass to Thomas.
Syracuse responded with a 75-yard drive that Willis finished with a 1-yard TD run. The failed two-point conversion left the Orange trailing 38-20.
Willis’ 1-yard TD run with 11:54 remaining brought the Orange within 38-26, but they failed on the two-point conversion again.
Aguilar’s 2-yard TD pass to Miles Kitselman with just under four minutes left sealed the outcome.
–Field Level Media
