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Saturday, November 14, 2026Nov 14

Tennessee Vols victors despite defense

photo Marlin Lane crosses the goal line with UT’s winning touchdown over Troy Saturday at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville. UT won 55-48.

KNOXVILLE – JaRon Toney heard the number and briefly paused.

The walk-on defensive back was part of a Tennessee defense that allowed a program-worst 721 yards to Troy on Saturday afternoon at Neyland Stadium.

“My reaction? That’s a lot of yards,” Toney said.

It wasn’t enough to deny the Volunteers a win, as Tennessee’s offense scored twice in the final three minutes to rescue its embarrassing defense.

“We won today, so I don’t really care about that [number],” said nickelback Eric Gordon. “We showed up when it mattered the most.”