GAINESVILLE, FL — Joey Aguilar became the fifth Tennessee quarterback to pass for 3,000 yards in a season, but that was just one among many highlights in the Vols’ 31-11 win over Florida.
Aguilar joined Peyton Manning (1996-97), Tyler Bray (2012), Erik Ainge (2007) and Hendon Hooker (2022) on that list. He was sharp early on in leading No. 20 Tennessee (8-3, 4-3 SEC) in this final road game of the season on Nov. 22.
Here’s a quick rundown of Aguilar’s performance against Florida (3-8, 2-6 SEC).
Joey Aguilar’s stats
Aguilar was 17-of-22 passing for 204 yards and one TD.
Aguilar extended two personal streaks. He threw a TD pass for a 22nd consecutive game. And he has passed for at least 200 yards in all 35 starts of his Division I career, including 11 at UT and 24 at Appalachian State. Both are the longest active streaks in FBS.
Aguilar’s best: Perfect 10-for-10 start
Aguilar completed his first 10 passes for 131 yards, as the Vols jumped ahead 28-0 with four consecutive TD drives to start the game.
Aguilar made it look easy, which was eye-opening considering the trouble UT quarterbacks have had in The Swamp in the past. During that perfect streak, he spread the ball among three wide receivers and two tight ends.
Plus, Aguilar led a balanced UT offense early on, opting for timely runs on run-pass option plays. The Vols had 135 rushing yards and 131 passing yards en route to a 28-0 lead.
Aguilar’s worst: Fumble, but it turned into Vols touchdown
Amid his perfect passing start, Aguilar was stripped from behind by Florida edge rusher Jayden Woods while attempting a pass. It was ruled a fumble, but UT recovered to retain possession.
But true to form in this game, the Vols turned a negative into a positive. On the next play, Star Thomas broke a 52-yard run to convert a third-and-17. Then Thomas scored a touchdown on the play after that.
Grade: B+
Aguilar was red hot early on, but in a quiet way. He completed his first 10 passes without hitting a deep shot. Only two of those connections went for more than 20 yards, and none reached 25 yards.
That spoke to Aguilar’s control and poise. Florida gave him short and intermediate passes, and he settled for them in the best way.
Considering Aguilar forced passes for four interceptions in his previous two games, this was exactly the type of start he needed to guide the Vols to a strong start.
Adam Sparks is the Tennessee football beat reporter. Email adam.sparks@knoxnews.com. X, formerly known as Twitter@AdamSparks. Support strong local journalism by subscribing atknoxnews.com/subscribe.
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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Joey Aguilar stats, Tennessee football QB grade vs Florida
