Sometimes you wake up from a nightmare only to find yourself in the midst of another one. That's where Tennessee fans are right now. A week after losing to Georgia State at home, the Vols fell to BYU in overtime. At home. Again.
While last week's result may have been the bigger shock -- Georgia State was a 24.5-point underdog, BYU finished as a 3.5-point dog -- it was no less heartbreaking. Tennessee held a 13-3 lead over the Cougars at halftime but couldn't do enough to put the game away in the second half. BYU opened the second half with a touchdown to cut the lead to 13-10, and all the Vols could do to respond was tack on another field goal to increase the lead back to six.
Still, even after BYU got another field goal of its own to make it a 16-13 lead, the Vols held the lead in the final minute of regulation. BYU started at its 16-yard line with 1:01 to play. A holding call on the first play made it a first-and-18. Two plays later, the Cougars faced a third-and-6 from the BYU 20 and didn't have many options.
But then, somehow, someway, BYU's Micah Simon found himself wide open behind the Tennessee defense. Zach Wilson found him for a 64-yard completion, and BYU managed to run down the field and spike the ball before time could expire. Jake Oldroyd then made a 33-yard FG to tie the game. It was a field goal Tennessee fans behind the end zone thought went wide right, but it was ruled good, though it was agonizingly close.
That FG for BYU was close… pic.twitter.com/9aIUASISl0
— Bryan Fischer (@BryanDFischer) September 8, 2019
BYU would strike first in overtime, but Jarrett Guarantano would make a beautiful pass to Jauan Jennings to tie it up. In the second overtime, the Vols got the ball first, but could only manage a field goal. Vols fans were then forced to watch BYU make its way down the field and toward the end zone. The game came to an end on a 5-yard touchdown run by BYU's Ty'Son Williams that was truly a team effort.
BYU pushes for the win in Knoxville 😱 pic.twitter.com/iQc1VA12dn
— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) September 8, 2019
The result is an 0-2 start for Tennessee, the program's first 0-2 start since the 1988 season. That Vols team -- which lost to Georgia and Duke to start the year -- would begin the season 0-6 before rallying to win their final five games of the season.
With Chattanooga coming to Knoxville next week, odds are this Tennessee team will be able to avoid the 0-6 start. Of course, given what's happened in Knoxville the last two weeks, only a fool would assume anything at this point.