Joey Aguilar takes responsibility for two tipped interceptions at Mississippi State

Joey Aguilar wasn’t about to put the blame on Miles Kitselman for the interceptions. Both passes hit the hands of the Tennessee tight end, tipped into the air and intercepted. And later turned into Mississippi State touchdowns. 

“Just bad ball placement,” Aguilar said during his postgame press conference. “I just got to give my receiver a better chance to catch the ball. Nothing much other than that.”

Mississippi State scored 21 points off three Tennessee turnovers, but Aguilar rallied the Vols with a 75-yard touchdown drive to tie the game late in the fourth quarter, setting up a 25-yard DeSean Bishop touchdown run to start overtime that would prove to be enough in the 41-34 road win at Davis Wade Stadium.

“I tell them all the time in the huddle, just play by play and execute,” Aguilar said. “I mean, if you try and focus on other stuff, your mind goes everywhere. So we just go in there and just take it literally play by play and just focus on the details of what we call and what we do.”

Joey Aguilar: 24-40, 335, 2 TDs, 2 INTs

Aguilar completed 24 of 40 passes for 335 yards and a touchdown and ran seven time for 21 yards and the game-tying touchdown form 6 yards out with 1:55 left in regulation. 

The scoring drive went 75 yards in 10 plays — Tennessee’s previous three drives had totaled just 46 yards, with two interceptions and a punt — and included an 11-yard pass to Chris Brazzell II on fourth-and-4 with five minutes left. 

“It’s really confidence in my team and my offense,” Aguilar said when asked about the drive to tie the game. “I mean, they’ve fought all all day, I made some mistakes, turned the ball over a little bit, but those guys believed in me and the least I could do is believe in them. 

“And I went out there and trusted my receivers, trusted my running backs, my offensive linemen, and we executed.”

Mississippi State scored on drives of 17, 20 and 26 yards after recovering a fumble and picking off the two tipped Aguilar passes. 

‘It just shows how connected this team is and that we just keep fighting’

The Vols scored 14 points of their own off two Mississippi State turnovers, with Colton Hood taking an interception back for a touchdown in the first quarter and Joshua Josephs returning a fumble 62 yards for a touchdown in the second half, after a Tyre West strip sack.

Before tying the game at 34-34, Tennessee’s offense hadn’t since the 7:25 mark of the second quarter, when Aguilar threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Brazzell to tie the score at 17.

“We stick together no matter what,” Aguilar said. “And we kind of play off of each other. Defense got highs, offense got highs. Defense got lows, offense got lows. But we bounce energy within each other. Offense goes out there, not so good, defense goes out there, get a stop, get offense back rolling. 

“And then vice versa, defense, something happens, offense goes out there and executes. But it just shows how connected this team is and that we just keep fighting.”