Tennessee QB Joe Milton stiff-arms Virginia defender into the turf

On3-Social-Profile_GRAYby:On3 Staff Report09/02/23

Tennessee‘s offense hit a little bit of a lull following the opening drive in the season opener against Virginia, but quarterback Joe Milton made sure to get things back on track personally in the second quarter.

After dropping a beautiful pass to Ramel Keyton for a 41-yard gain, Milton marched the Volunteers into the red zone.

On a quarterback keeper off the left side on first-and-goal from the 7-yard line, Milton found himself out in space with Virginia defender Jonas Sanker. Seemingly undecided on which way to cut, Milton instead just threw out a powerful stiff-arm and planted Sanker’s face into the turf.

You can check out the mean stiff-arm below.

The Volunteers finished off the scoring drive when running back Dylan Sampson ran in from 3 yards out, making the score 14-0 Tennessee.

Tennessee took an early lead in the ACC vs. SEC showdown, scoring on the game’s opening drive. The Volunteers rang up eight plays for 62 yards and capped the drive with a pass from Joe Milton to Sampson on a swing for a touchdown on fourth-and-5.

But despite being a bit overmatched in the trenches, particularly with Tennessee’s defensive line overpowering Virginia’s offensive line, the Cavaliers have hung in the game quite nicely.

It’d be closer if not for a missed 28-yard field goal, too. Virginia missed a relative chip shot in the first quarter.

Tennessee’s defense was making life difficult on Virginia’s offense, with quarterback Tony Muskett appearing rattled or possibly banged-up at multiple points in the second quarter.

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How to watch, stream and listen

Kickoff Time: Noon ET

Location: Nissan Stadium (69,143)

TV: ABC (Joe Tessitore – Play by Play, Jesse Palmer – Color Commentator, Katie George – Sideline Reporter)

Streaming: ESPN App

Radio: WIVK-FM 107.7 and WNML-FM 99.1 in Knoxville. The Vol Network radio broadcast (Bob Kesling – play-by-play – Pat Ryan, analyst – Brent Hubbs, analyst – Jason Swain sideline) can be heard on local affiliates across the state of Tennessee

Satellite Radio: SiriusXM Channel 135 or Channel 191. SiriusXM App Channel 962.