Tennessee squeaks by App State thanks to OT fumble recovered in end zone

Tennessee’s march to fulfill lofty preseason expectations almost got derailed as soon as it started.

The No. 9 Volunteers survived a huge upset scare from Appalachian State on Thursday and won in overtime 20-13. The winning touchdown came from running back Jalen Hurd, who recovered a Josh Dobbs fumble in the end zone. Dobbs lost the ball when he took a helmet to the chest while leaping towards the goal line.

App State’s possession to tie ended when a fourth-down pass from Lamb fell incomplete in the end zone.

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The Mountaineers had a shot to win the game in regulation but it ended thanks to some horrible clock management. App State had a chance for a game-winning field goal but tossed it away by refusing to call its final timeout facing third and 5.

The second-down play ended with approximately 25 seconds left and App State tried to run the hurry-up. It didn’t work as Taylor Lamb dove out of bounds after the clock had expired.

Even if Lamb had gotten out of bounds with time on the clock, a game-winner was not guaranteed. Redshirt freshman kicker Michael Rubino had previously missed a 42-yard field goal in the second half and missed an extra point in the second quarter after Appalachian State had taken a 13-3 lead.

Overtime was the first time App State had trailed all night. The close nature of the game was no fluke. Heck, if you’re going to argue for a fluke, you can make a pretty convincing one that Tennessee got a fluke win.

The game came nine years to the day after App State’s win over Michigan. In 2007, App State was an FCS team that few around the country had heard of. Thursday night, it entered the game as one of the favorites in the Sun Belt.

The Mountaineers stood toe-to-toe with Tennessee and controlled the line of scrimmage for much of the first half especially. Tennessee turned the ball over twice and it could have been more. Hurd grabbing Dobbs’ fumble in overtime was a gift and Hurd also had a fumble that was recovered by a teammate in the second half.

But even though Tennessee got the win, it’s still fair to question if the Vols were overrated being a preseason top 10 team. Tennessee hasn’t fulfilled the lofty (and perhaps unfair) preseason expectations placed upon it recently, but 2016 was supposed to be different. This was supposed to be the year UT charged back to the top of the SEC thanks to the accumulation of talent coach Butch Jones had recruited to Knoxville.

It still can be that season. A loss wouldn’t have meant anything in terms of the SEC standings, and there’s still a lot of reasons to think Tennessee is the favorite in the East (especially if RB Alvin Kamara gets more than the six carries he got Thursday).

But a loss would have increased the pressure, even if it was only perceived. App State is good. Tennessee should have been a lot better. And UT will have to be better in a hurry. Virginia Tech is up next, along with Florida, Georgia, Texas A&M and Alabama over the course of the next six weeks.

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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
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