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Volume 136, Issue 17
Monday, October 15, 2018
Inside: • Students are flooding out of Laurel Hall following the discovery of mold in the apartment dorms. Campus News Editor Cat Trieu and Asst. News Editor Neeley Moore dig into the situation on page 3.
Jonathan Kongbo, #99, celebrates with teammates after his interception against Auburn on Oct. 13, 2018 at Jordan-Hare Stadium. Megan Albers / The Daily Beacon
Vols add to Pruitt’s ‘firsts’ with win at No. 21 Auburn Blake Von Hagen Sports Editor
• Are you excited for the fall weather? So is Cartoonist Van Voor. Check out her cartoon on page 4.
• Cultures across the globe were represented Saturday at the International Food Festival. Contributor Sam Still eats his way through the festival on page 6.
• It feels like ‘99... The Vols upset the Auburn Tigers on Saturday. Asst. Sports Editor Will Backus grades their performance on page 8.
After Tennessee’s 38-12 loss to No. 2 Georgia in its last game, Vols’ head coach Jeremy Pruitt described this season as a “season of firsts.” On Saturday, the firsts continued, as Tennessee defeated No. 21 Auburn 30-24 at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn. It was the first SEC win in the last 11 tries against conference foes for the Vols. “To go on the road and win against a really good football team in the SEC, I think it speaks about how far we have come as a program in the last ten months,” Pruitt said. “Things didn’t go our way all the time today, but we are learning to play the next play.” It was the first SEC win for Pruitt. To continue the theme, the Vols picked up their first win over an SEC West opponent since 2010 and their first victory against Auburn since 1999. None of it seemed possible after
Auburn’s opening drive. The Tigers pounded their way down the field, seamlessly executing a 14-play, 75-yard touchdown scoring drive that took 5:16 off the game clock to take a 7-0 lead. Ten out of the 14 plays were rushing attempts. “There’s times in the game that things didn’t go our way,” Pruitt said. “I don’t think we played very well at certain times in the game, but our guys kind of kept their poise and fought a little harder.” Tennessee responded with a nine-play drive that ended in a 42-yard field goal from sophomore kicker Brent Cimaglia to cut the lead to 7-3. An Auburn field goal on the ensuing drive would quickly push the lead back to seven. Sophomore Ty Chandler caught a 42-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Jarrett Guarantano early in the second quarter to tie the game at 10-10. Chandler finished the game with 16 carries for 53 yards and five receptions for 62 yards.
An Auburn touchdown and another Cimaglia field goal gave the Tigers a 17-13 lead at halftime. After Tennessee failed to score on the opening drive of the second half, the Vols’ defense held Auburn to a three-and-out on its following drive. Tennessee took its first lead of the game on a Guarantano 25-yard touchdown pass to Jauan Jennings after the defensive stop, making it 20-17. “We had many, many explosive plays today,” Guarantano said. “They (the receivers) did a great job high-pointing those 50-50 balls … as an offense I think we played very well.” The Vols’ offense was propelled by Guarantano all afternoon, as he finished the game 21-for-32 with 328 yards and two touchdowns. It was the first 300-plus yard passing game of Guarantano’s career. “You can’t ask for a better quarterback than him,” offensive lineman Trey Smith said. “Jarrett just keeps playing, man. He just keeps showing his toughness week-in and
week-out. That’s the type of man he is.” Tennessee cashed in on its biggest opportunity when Stidham fumbled and Alontae Taylor recovered it for a touchdown, putting the Vols ahead 27-17. “I think picking up the ball and scoring down there, making it a two-score game, was a big deal,” Pruitt said. Cimaglia added a 20-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter, and Auburn scored a touchdown with less than 40 seconds remaining in the game, but the Vols would recover the onside kick to seal the win. Tennessee closes out its stretch of four-consecutive games against ranked opponents with a matchup against No. 1 Alabama next Saturday at Neyland Stadium. The Crimson Tide defeated the Vols 45-7 in Tuscaloosa last season. “Next week we have a big opponent,” Guarantano said. “We got tonight to think on our win and tomorrow we are back to work.”