Aguilar’s sharp debut sets the tone in Atlanta
The Aflac Kickoff Game delivered a punchy opener, and Tennessee landed most of the blows. In a neutral-site showcase at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the No. 24 Volunteers rolled past Syracuse, 45-26, a result that felt settled as soon as the Vols ripped off 17 points in the first quarter. If you’re circling one headline, it’s this: Tennessee vs Syracuse turned into Joey Aguilar’s coming-out party.
Making his Tennessee debut, Aguilar looked like he’d been in Josh Heupel’s system for years. He completed 16 of 28 for 247 yards and three touchdowns, mixing touch and velocity and rarely forcing the issue. His best moment came on a second-quarter dagger—73 yards in stride to Braylon Staley—that instantly flipped momentum after Syracuse had trimmed the gap. Later, he went to the tight red-zone menu: a 7-yard strike to Star Thomas in the third quarter and a 2-yard seal-the-deal toss to Miles Kitselman in the fourth.
The ground game made the rest feel easy. Thomas paced the backfield with 92 yards on 12 carries and a score, showing burst through the second level. DeSean Bishop added 82 yards with a first-half touchdown, and his 47-yard burst before halftime set up that score. Sophomore Peyton Lewis finished an 85-yard march with a short plunge, the kind of drive that tells you an offensive line is in sync in Week 1.
Heupel’s tempo and spacing did their usual damage. Tennessee stacked 493 total yards and went a perfect 5-for-5 in the red zone. The ball spread cleanly, too: Chris Brazzell II led the team with five catches for 62 yards, while Staley turned four grabs into 95 yards and the explosive touchdown. None of it happened without sturdy work up front—Aguilar had time to climb the pocket, and the backs kept finding daylight off tackle and inside zone.
The opening script did its job. Tennessee scored on its first three possessions, forced Syracuse to chase, and then kept piling on with situational efficiency. Even when the Orange punched back in the second quarter, the Vols’ response was immediate: hit the deep shot, reassert the run, and let the defense hunt.
Defense flips the game early—and keeps the heat on
The day turned on a defensive jolt. Edge rusher Nathan Robinson ripped the ball free on a first-half sack, and transfer cornerback Colton Hood scooped it and sprinted 22 yards to the end zone. That scoop-and-score forced Syracuse out of its comfort zone and put Tennessee fully in command of the tempo battle.
From there, the front seven dictated. Tennessee finished with five sacks and seven tackles for loss, getting steady pressure without over-blitzing. Junior linebacker Arion Carter led the way with nine tackles, a sack, and a stop behind the line—calm, fast, and around the ball all afternoon. Edge duo Joshua Josephs and McMurray stacked seven tackles each with a sack apiece, closing the pocket and disrupting timing.
Syracuse still had answers in spurts, mostly through running back Yasin Willis’ physical work between the tackles. He carried it 23 times for 91 yards and three touchdowns, capitalizing on short fields and goal-line chances. Quarterback Steve Angeli kept the Orange in striking distance into halftime with 274 yards on 23-of-40 passing, tossing one touchdown against one interception. The second quarter was their best run, as they cut it to 24-14 and briefly muted the building.
But the Tennessee defense never fully lost the rope. Even when Syracuse moved the chains, negative plays kept popping up—sacks on second down, run stuffs on third—and the Orange couldn’t string enough clean snaps together. That’s the hidden value of those five sacks and seven TFLs: they turn drives into field goals or punts, and they give your offense short fields to put games away.
Aguilar did exactly that after halftime. The Vols leaned on the run, hit manageable third downs, and finished drives. The short touchdown to Thomas came off a methodical march that bled clock and morale. Kitselman’s late score was the closer, less about style and more about Tennessee showing it can be ruthless in the high red zone—a point of emphasis for any Heupel offense aiming for a conference run.
If you’re looking for early takeaways, start with balance. Tennessee didn’t ask Aguilar to be a hero, but when they needed him to rip a seam or throw a heater to the flat, he hit it. The backs ran decisively, and the receivers found space off play action. On defense, the rush was fast enough to make Syracuse one-dimensional for long stretches, even as Willis muscled in his touchdowns near the goal line.
There’s also the trust factor. A first-time starter at quarterback usually gets a conservative script. Tennessee didn’t do that. They went tempo, took the deep shot to Staley, and gave Aguilar the freedom to distribute. You could see the chemistry with Brazzell on early downs and the willingness to find tight ends near the stripe. That’s an encouraging sign for a program that has lived on explosive plays the past few years but needs a steadier down-to-down floor to survive the SEC grind.
For Syracuse, the blueprint is clear heading into Week 2: protect Angeli better (those edge pressures mounted), limit the negative plays, and try to keep Willis fresh into the fourth quarter. The Orange showed enough in the second quarter to hang with ranked teams, but the margin for error shrinks fast when drives start at second-and-14.
Tennessee now gets a chance to stack progress at home. ETSU visits Knoxville on Sept. 6, a spot where the Vols can clean up details—short-yardage efficiency, tackling consistency at the boundary, and continued timing between Aguilar and his receivers. The schedule gets fiercer soon; banking reps and health in Week 2 matters.
Syracuse returns to the Dome the same day against UConn. If the Orange can turn those second-quarter flashes into four quarters and tighten pass protection, they’ll give themselves chances in the ACC chase. The quarterback play was competitive, the ground game has an identity, and the defense showed some early-down toughness before Tennessee’s pace stretched it thin.
Key numbers that told the story:
- 493 total yards for Tennessee, powered by balance and tempo
- 5-for-5 in the red zone for the Vols
- 5 sacks and 7 tackles for loss by the Tennessee defense
- Joey Aguilar: 16-of-28, 247 yards, 3 TDs in his debut
- Braylon Staley: 4 catches, 95 yards, 1 TD (73-yard strike)
- Yasin Willis (Syracuse): 23 carries, 91 yards, 3 TDs
- Steve Angeli (Syracuse): 274 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT on 23-of-40
Neutral-site openers can be messy. Tennessee looked mostly polished. The offense found its shape early, the defense brought heat without losing contain, and the special teams stayed out of trouble. For Week 1, that’s the template coaches want: control the script, win the explosive-play battle, and walk into the home opener with momentum intact.