LEXINGTON, Ky. – Facing third-and-4 on his team’s 8-yard line and needing one first down to put the game away, Tennessee offensive coordinator Jim Chaney dialed up a naked bootleg for Jarrett Guarantano.
In this day and age of dual-threat quarterbacks, the play call should have come as no surprise, right?
But considering the redshirt junior entered Saturday night’s game at Kentucky with minus-132 rushing yards in his career, the call could have raised some eyebrows had it not worked. Despite showing more willingness to scramble in recent games, Guarantano has always been more comfortable in the pocket.
But in a season when the only thing to expect from the Volunteers is the unexpected, Chaney made the call and Guarantano made the play.
Ten yards later, the Vols had sealed a 17-13 win – and now they find themselves in the same position they were a year ago, 5-5 overall and coming off a win over the Wildcats. This time, though, the road they took there crossed higher peaks and lower valleys.