Tennessee quarterback Joey Aguilar was effective and controlled as the 12th-ranked Vols beat Arkansas 34-31.
Aguilar had few highlight plays. But he also didn’t make critical mistakes.
Along the way, Aguilar kept his 200-yard passing streak going. He has passed for at least 200 yards in all 30 starts of his Division I career, including six at UT and 24 at Appalachian State. That’s the longest active streak in FBS.
Tennessee improved to 5-1 overall and 2-1 in SEC play. Arkansas fell to 2-4 and 0-2 in SEC play.
Here’s a quick rundown of Aguilar’s performance against Arkansas on Oct. 11.
Joey Aguilar’s stats
Aguilar was 16-of-25 passing for 221 yards and one TD. He also rushed for 59 yards on five carries.
Aguilar is a former Appalachian State standout and UCLA transfer. Through four games as UT’s quarterback, he has completed 65% of his passes for 1,680 yards, 14 TDs and five interceptions. And he’s rushed for two TDs.
Aguilar’s best: Key pass early, big run late
Aguilar’s best pass wasn’t a touchdown, but it set up a much-needed score. With UT trailing 17-10 late in the second quarter, Aguilar delivered a 42-yard strike to Braylon Staley on the first play of the drive.
Aguilar had to hang in the pocket long enough for Staley to get behind the coverage on a skinny post route over the middle. Aguilar was rocked by Arkansas linebacker Stephen Dix, but he still tossed a catchable pass to Staley.
Aguilar followed with two completions to Miles Kitselman, including an 8-yard TD pass to tie the game.
And in the final three minutes of the game, Aguilar broke off a 28-yard run to help seal the win. He was injured on the play but eventually got to his feet and returned to the game to loud applause from the sellout crowd.
Aguilar’s worst: Overthrows after takeaway, almost interception
In the first quarter, UT’s defense recovered a fumble near midfield, and Aguilar tried to hit a deep pass for a quick-change score following the turnover. But it backfired because Aguilar overthrew deep passes to Chris Brazzell and Mike Matthews on second and third downs.
Rather than take the lead, UT went three-and-out and squandered an opportunity to grab momentum.
And in the third quarter, Aguilar rolled left under pressure. It appeared that he tried to throw the ball away to avoid a sack, but he didn’t see a defender in the area. The pass was nearly intercepted, but Aguilar was fortunate that it instead fell incomplete.
Grade: B
It speaks quite well of Aguilar that he could have a solid game and still pass for 221 yards and a touchdown with no turnovers.
To this point, it’s clear that the Vols can count on Aguilar to put together consistently good performances without back-breaking miscues.
That’s what this outing was for Aguilar. And it certainly good enough for the win.
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 Arkansas
