Tennessee Volunteers @ Texas A&M Aggies
No. 9 Tennessee pulls away late to beat Texas A&M 22-7 behind 5 Cooper Ranvier field goals
COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- — DaSaahn Brame had a touchdown catch and Cooper Ranvier made a career-high five field goals to lead No. 9 Tennessee to a 22-7 win over Texas A&M Saturday.
DeSean Bishop added 97 yards rushing to help the Volunteers, who ranked eighth in this week’s College Football Playoff rankings, to their fifth win in six games.
Coach Josh Heupel was impressed with his team's performance despite the FAA ground stop that made for an extra long travel day where the Volunteers didn't arrive in College Station until about 11 p.m. Friday night.
“A lot of things this group was dealing with; injuries, the travel, getting in late,” he said. “And ultimately deciding to prepare the right way, not let anything get in our way and going and competing really hard for four quarters.”
The Aggies led 7-6 at halftime and neither team could get anything going offensively in the third quarter as they combined for five punts.
Tennessee (8-2, 5-2 SEC) finally got going and took a 9-7 lead on a 32-yard field goal by Ranvier late in the third.
The Aggies (4-6, 1-6) looked to have forced a punt on Tennessee’s next drive. But Marco Jones was called for roughing the passer to give the Volunteers a first down.
Tennessee took advantage of the error when Faizon Brandon threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Brame that made it 16-7 with less than 10 minutes to go.
The Aggies went for it on fourth-and-1 from their 34 on their next possession, but Reed’s pass was incomplete to give Tennessee great field position.
They padded the lead with a 44-yard field goal that left them up 19-7 with about six minutes left.
Ranvier added a 27-yard field goal with less than three minutes to go to make it 22-7.
“I feel like I’m a lot more polished than last year and bolder and more experienced,” Ranvier said. “And I’ve given (Heupel) more confidence in me throughout the season. I know he trusts me and I trust him to give me the right opportunities.”
Texas A&M's offensive struggles continued as the team punted on its first four possessions of the second half before turning it over on downs. Marcel Reed was intercepted on the next drive, and backup Brady Hart was picked off after that.
“An utter apology to everyone who supports our program," coach Mike Elko said. "You all deserve much better. Give me a chance and we’ll put a better product on the field. This is not what you deserve.”
Reed was 9 of 22 for a season-low 71 yards as the Aggies were limited to a season-worst 179 total yards.
Elko was asked if he might consider a change at quarterback.
“We’ll figure that out moving forward," he said. "Our offense is inept. It’s not just on one kid. It’s not just on Marcel Reed, that’s on me. It’s on me. It’s my fault. I own it. Come after me.”
The Volunteers had a 3-0 lead when K.J. Edwards dashed 25 yards for a touchdown to put Texas A&M up 7-3 early in the second.
Ranvier cut the lead to 7-6 on a 30-yard field goal with about six minutes left in the second. The Aggies had a shot to extend their lead just before halftime, but David Olano’s 50-yard field goal attempt was wide right.
Tennessee: The Volunteers got a convincing win despite struggling offensively for most of the day. They’ll need to score touchdowns instead of settling for field goals if they hope to stay on track and secure a CFP spot.
Texas A&M: The Aggies need to win their final two games against Oklahoma and No. 6 Texas to become bowl eligible a year after an 11-1 regular season that earned them their first CFP berth in 2025.
The Volunteers played without backup running back Daune Morris after he sustained a broken leg in a car accident early Friday morning.
Morris was ticketed for reckless driving following the crash, according to a police report. The report says that the 19-year-old was driving a Dodge Charger with two passengers when he hit a fire hydrant and four parked cars in a parking lot before the car flipped and came to rest on its roof.
“You hate having to deal with that,” Heupel said. “Got to make good decisions and you affect a lot of other people that put a lot of work into it.”
The sophomore ranks second on the team with 434 yards rushing and three touchdowns. He had a 66-yard TD run in last week’s 34-6 win over then-No. 6 Kentucky.
With Morris out, Javin Gordon had a season-high 78 yards rushing.
Tennessee: Hosts No. 21 LSU next Saturday.
Texas A&M: Visits Oklahoma next Saturday.
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