SEC Football: 83 is for the Tennessee/Texas A&M shootout
By Matt Green
There’s 83 days remaining till college football season, and that takes us back to one of the best SEC football games of the 2016 season.
Last season’s contest between Tennessee and Texas A&M was one of the most highly anticipated matchups of the SEC football season. Even ESPN College Gameday was in College Station for the occasion.
Tennessee came into the game with a 5-0 record and a no. 9 national ranking. The Vols finally beat Florida and were fresh off their Hail Mary victory over Georgia and were beginning to look like a team of destiny.
Texas A&M also came in with a 5-0 record and were ranked no. 8 nationally. The Aggies had wins over UCLA and Arkansas and were already 3-0 in conference play.
And that brings us to no. 83 in the Southbound and Down College Football Countdown.
Texas A&M and Tennessee combined for 83 points in their 2016 overtime thriller.
Must Read: 84 is about moving the chains
Texas A&M got out to a 28-7 lead early in the second quarter, before Tennessee came battling back. The Volunteers outscored the Aggies 21-7 in the fourth quarter and scored twice in the final minutes to force overtime.
In overtime, Trevor Knight ran for 1-yard touchdown to give the Aggies the lead. Then Joshua Dobbs was intercepted when Tennessee got the ball and the Aggies prevailed 45-38.
These two teams combined for over 1,200 yards of offense in this game. Tennessee racked 684 yards of total offense, while Texas A&M gained 592. And the 83 points these teams combined for was the fifth most of the 2016 season in the SEC.
Texas A&M and Tennessee had two of the best quarterbacks in the SEC last season, but they’re also two of the three SEC schools that will be finding a new signal-caller in 2017. And both of these teams are going to have to figure out the quarterback position if they want to have more offensive performances like they did in this game.