Nashville, TN – Purdue thwarted Tennessee on fourth down in OT before Mitchell Finneran’s FG in OT finished the Purdue win as offensive, defensive, and attendance records fell in the 23^rd edition of the Music City Bowl.  A record Music City crowd of 69,489 witnessed an exciting finish. In the final period before going into OT, both squads scored two touchdowns each.

Close and controversial

    On fourth and goal in the first and only OT, the Volunteers’ (7-6) RB Jaylen Wright got tackled short of the goal line. Lying on top of the defenders Jamar Brown and Kieren Douglas and before a whistle blew, Wright reached the ball out over the line for an apparent six. However, after review, the call upheld the ruling that forward progress had stopped before the ball broke the plane. Shocking to us! On their subsequent possession, the Boilermakers (9-4) spotted the ball for Finneran’s 39-yard kick to seal the victory for Purdue.

Vols take commanding lead

    The Volunteers led at the end of Q1, 21-7, for the largest scoring margin of the game.  Two of Tennessee’s scores came on TD passes from QB Hendon Hooker to Cedric Tillman for 41 yards and 61 yards respectively. Purdue’s came on a 75-yard scoring pass from QB Aidan O’Connell to Broc Thompson. This tied the bowl record for longest TD pass in its 23-year history. Thompson’s seven receptions for 217 yards set the record for most receiving yards, and he’d score another TD later. Jabari Small (26 carries for 180 yards, one TD) capped the first period scoring with his two-yard run for Tennessee.

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Purdue comeback

    In the second, Purdue relied on Finneran for three field goals from 24, 36, and 29 yards respectively. They trailed UT, 21-16.  Then a sack of Hooker by DT Damarcus Mitchell causing a fumble put the Boilermakers at UT’s 28. A 26-yard pass to Deion Burks set up O’Connell’s two-yard TD pass to Payne Durham. This gave PU its first lead before going into halftime to lead, 23-21.

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Sounds of the Music City

    The best music performed by both marching bands lent to the atmosphere of a great college football game at halftime.  It’s the first time in our long memory that a venue allowed the two outstanding bands to perform their musical skills throughout the game.  Most often, venues persist on playing pre-recorded music wiping out the spirited sounds of great college traditions.  The musical performances of the bands enhance the spirit of college football. 

    Also, not only was the PA announcer very objective and accurate throughout the game, his voice added excitement no matter which team came up with a big play.  The sounds from the bands, the announcer, and the record Music City crowd added to the great spirit of a very entertaining college football game.

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A lot of help from his friends

     In the second half, the two teams traded scores keeping the margin within seven points at most in a truly seesaw battle. Tennessee started the scoring with a 71-yard drive capped by Hooker’s 16-yard TD pass to Velus Jones. They retook the lead by five.  Purdue answered with a 75-yard drive resulting in O’Connell’s 10-yard pass to TJ Sheffield on a fade pass in the right corner. The Purdue receiving corps made many outstanding catches with great efforts all day. They padded O’Connell’s stats to look outstanding (26 of 47 for 534 yards, five TDs, and three INTs). Their combined efforts set the Music City record for passing yards as a team and for an individual quarterback.  Forced and errant passes by O’Connell were overcome by several outstanding, circus catches by his teammates.

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     Before the third came to a close, one of those errant passes got picked off by Byron Young. UT was in business at Purdue’s 49. The turnover resulted in a 30-yard FG by Chase McGrath to give UT a 31-30 lead.  Once again, O’Connell gave the ball back to the Vols on an overthrow scooped above the turf by DB Trevon Flowers. However early in the fourth, the Boilermaker defense avoided more damage by stopping the Vols’ subsequent, 15-play drive to their 24. On a fourth and one, they halted the drive and took over on downs. 

Fight to the Finish in the Fourth

     After exchanging punts, Purdue started from its 10. Two pass interference calls helped them get to the 38.   O’Connell’s next pass connected with Payne Durham on a crossing pattern. Hit and being pushed off to the near sidelines, he suddenly broke free and raced down the right sideline for a 62-yard catch-and-run TD pass.  O’Connell connected with him on a short pass just over the goal line for a two-point conversion, and the Boilermakers led, 38-31.   

      Jabari Small took the first handoff from the 35 to start UT’s next drive and raced 60 yards to the Purdue five.  The Boilermakers held UT to short gains. A holding call forced the Vols to a third and goal at the 13. Following an incomplete pass, Hooker connected with Tillman on a slant across the middle for a tying touchdown with 3:37 left to play.  On PU’s third play following a touchback, O’Connell connected with Thompson on the right sideline. He beat a defender who fell, and raced 70 yards for a 45-38 lead with 2:57 left. O’Connell’s fifth TD pass tied him with two others for the Music City Bowl TD pass record.

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Tying the game and the record

     Starting from the 28, Hooker completed a 58-yard pass to Princeton Fant to get to the Purdue 2.  With 1:35 left, Hooker connected on a two-yard scoring pass on a fade to Jalin Hyatt who made a diving catch keeping his feet in as he landed out of the end zone.  Tying the score at 45-45, with his fifth TD pass, Hooker tied the Music City record with three others for his five TD passes this day.

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    Purdue gained only six yards before punting to Tennessee on its subsequent possession. UT took over from its 40 with 44 second left in regulation. Both teams burned time-outs as the Vols got as far at the Boilers’ 42. With two ticks left, McGrath’s FG attempt from 56 came up short.  The overtime period added another Music City bowl record as the longest contest since the inception 23 games ago.

OT!

    It took the Vols six plays from the 25 in OT to get a first and goal at the two.  A sack by DE Jack Sullivan put UT back at their eight. Purdue’s defense stopped consecutive runs by Wright for five, two, and no yards to turn the ball over to start the Boilermaker possession. Purdue picked up seven on a pass to Durham to the 18 before their FB Zac Horvath (17 carries for 58 yards) centered the ball on two carries to give Finneran the chip shot for Purdue’s bowl win, 48-45!

For the Record(s)

   Among the QBs O’Connell and Hooker tied for the TD passing record, one was Auburn’s Jarrett Stidham who we saw do this against Purdue in their 63-14 trouncing in the 2018 edition.  The 93 total points set a new Music City record for most points by both teams.  Tennessee set the record of highest by the losing team (45).  UT also set the mark for total yards of offense at 666. Their 31 first downs also set the highwater mark. A defensive record was established by LB Jeremy Banks who totaled 20 tackles for the Vols.

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Our History

   For Collegefootballfan.com, the Purdue Boilermakers won their first in this, the seventh game, we saw them play.  That’s saying a lot. Two of them featured Drew Brees at QB against Penn State in 1998 and 2000. Their losses in our history include the aforementioned Music City against Auburn and the Champs Sports Bowl in 2006 to Maryland.

    For Tennessee, this was their second loss among eight games we’ve attended, most in bowl games. Their first was a win over Wisconsin in the 1981 Garden State Bowl. Willie Gault returned a kickoff for a TD in the 28-21 win. In 1987, they defeated Iowa at the Meadowlands in the Kickoff Classic, 23-22. Their first loss came against Penn State in the 2007 Outback Bowl, 20-10. In 2009, we visited Neyland Stadium for the first time where they welcomed Western Kentucky to the FBS and won big, 63-7.

Four Vol Bowls

   We attended the lopsided Taxslayer win over Iowa in 2014; the big Outback slaughter against Northwestern in 2015: and the Music City win over Nebraska in 2016.  Just like this year’s Music City, in all cases, we bought the bowl tickets before we knew who was playing.  The Vols show up for us wherever we go! They stand at 6-2 in the annals of our history.

   With the CFP championship slated for January 10, this great Music City event regretfully ends our fantastic 2021 season.  Look for some Salvos coming up to summarize our season along with other special features during the months leading up to the 2022 season.  Already, we can’ wait!

    Also remember, three more teams join the FBS within the next two years – James Madison, Eastern Kentucky, and Jacksonville State.  We’ll be planning to add them to maintain our ongoing goal to see ‘em all!  

By Steve Koreivo, ed. Author of “Tales from the Tailgate; From the fan who’s seen ‘em all!”  Click on the title to get your copy from Amazon.

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