Pass rush helps sluggish Tennessee outlast UMass 17-13

Tennessee kicker Brent Cimaglia celebrates with coach Butch Jones and teammates after he kicked a 51-yard field goal during the first half of this past Saturday's 26-20 loss at Florida. Cimaglia, who is a freshman, and senior Aaron Medley both had field-goal attempts in the game. Tennessee kicker Brent Cimaglia celebrates with coach Butch Jones and teammates after he kicked a 51-yard field goal during the first half of this past Saturday's 26-20 loss at Florida. Cimaglia, who is a freshman, and senior Aaron Medley both had field-goal attempts in the game.

By Associated Press September 23, 2017 4 min read

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Tennessee coach Butch Jones often follows closer-than-expected victories by saying that he never will apologize for a win.

This time, he had a different postgame approach.

“At the end of the day, it’s all about getting the victory, but (that was) just flat-out unacceptable,” Jones said Saturday after Tennessee staggered to a 17-13 victory over 27 -point underdog Massachusetts. “The performance is unacceptable. We’ll get back to work tonight and correct it and correct our deficiencies.”

Tennessee (3-1) was trying to bounce back from a 26-20 loss at No. 20 Florida in which the Vols allowed a tiebreaking 63-yard touchdown pass as time expired. Jones’ staff was roasted all week for everything from Tennessee’s red-zone play calling to its defensive strategy on the game’s final play.

The Vols’ performance against UMass (0-5) won’t quiet that criticism. Tennessee struggled to put away a winless team that played the entire game without star tight end Adam Breneman and most of the second half without starting quarterback Andrew Ford due to injuries.