The College Football BeltThe CFB Belt
Belt / 2016 season / Reign #296 · Game 1,507 of 1,641
October 8, 2016 Week 6 · Regular Season Belt defended

Texas A&M defends the belt, 45–38, at home over Tennessee.

Home · Defending Holder
Texas A&MAP No. 8 45
AT
Away · Challenger
TennesseeAP No. 9 38

AP poll, week 6: Tennessee No. 9 at Texas A&M No. 8 · No. 1 that week: Florida. The belt vs. the polls →

Belt context

Where this game sits in the lineage

Texas A&M came in 14 days into reign #296, which began with a win over Arkansas, with one defense already behind it; this was its second defense. It was the last defense: Alabama took the belt in the very next belt game, on October 22, 2016.

For Tennessee this was its 22nd shot at the belt; it had held the belt 7 times before.

This is the only time Tennessee and Texas A&M have met with the belt on the line.

AI-Written

Recap

Texas A&M's defense forced seven Tennessee turnovers en route to a 45-38 victory that allowed the Aggies to keep the belt in College Station. The game was a back-and-forth affair that saw both teams pile up yards, with Tennessee actually out-gaining Texas A&M 684-592 total yards, but the Volunteers couldn't overcome their turnover woes. Texas A&M jumped out to an early lead with three touchdowns in the first quarter, including two passing scores to Josh Reynolds and a rushing touchdown by Trevor Knight, though Tennessee answered with a touchdown of their own. The Aggies' defense made crucial plays down the stretch, recovering multiple fumbles including one by John Kelly deep in Texas A&M territory that essentially sealed the game, and Trevor Knight's 62-yard rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter put the game out of reach.

Written by Claude from the box score and play-by-play on this page — a plain-English recap of the numbers below, not a substitute for them.

Full Box Score

Team stats

CFBD box score
 Texas A&MTennessee
Total yards592684
Rushing yards353282
Passing yards239402
First downs2129
3rd down conv.5/166/17
Turnovers37
Penalties–yards7–4512–84
Time of possession27:3732:23

Full team box score from CFBD’s /games/teams data. This section only appears for belt games from 2003 onward — CFBD doesn’t have team-level stats that far back.

Play By Play

Key plays

CFBD play-by-play
WhenTeamYardsPlay
Q1 14:28Texas A&M-9 ydTrevor Knight pass intercepted Todd Kelly Jr. return for 9 yds to the Tenn 46
Q1 8:30Texas A&M+32 ydBraden Mann kickoff for 62 yds , Evan Berry return for 32 yds to the Tenn 35
Q1 7:34Tennessee+55 ydJoshua Dobbs pass complete to Alvin Kamara for 55 yds Alvin Kamara fumbled, forced by Armani Watts, recovered by TexAM Zaycoven Henderson
Q1 3:37Tennessee+4 ydJauan Jennings pass complete to Joshua Dobbs for 4 yds for a TD, (Aaron Medley KICK)
Q1 3:55Tennessee+33 ydJoshua Dobbs run for 33 yds to the TexAM 4 for a 1ST down
Q1 2:47Texas A&M+43 ydTrevor Knight pass complete to Josh Reynolds for 43 yds to the Tenn 10 for a 1ST down
Q1 2:04Texas A&M+2 ydTrevor Knight pass complete to Josh Reynolds for 2 yds for a TD, (Daniel LaCamera KICK)
Q1 1:45Texas A&M+7 ydTrevor Knight run for 7 yds for a TD, (Daniel LaCamera KICK)
Q2 11:02Texas A&M+36 ydShane Tripucka punt for 36 yds , Alvin Kamara returns for a loss of 1 yard to the Tenn 10 Alvin Kamara fumbled, recovered by Tenn Alvin Kamara
Q2 8:24Texas A&M+24 ydTrevor Knight pass complete to Frank Iheanacho for 24 yds to the Tenn 42 for a 1ST down
Q3 13:17Tennessee+27 ydJoshua Dobbs pass complete to Josh Malone for 27 yds to the TexAM 33 for a 1ST down
Q3 13:05Tennessee-6 ydJoshua Dobbs run for a loss of 2 yards to the TexAM 35 Joshua Dobbs fumbled, recovered by TexAM Daeshon Hall at TexAM 39
Q3 10:40Texas A&M+7 ydTrayveon Williams run for 7 yds for a TD, (Daniel LaCamera KICK)
Q3 11:19Texas A&M+27 ydTrevor Knight pass complete to Speedy Noil for 27 yds to the Tenn 13 for a 1ST down
Q3 7:22Tennessee+20 ydJoshua Dobbs pass complete to Jauan Jennings for 20 yds to the TexAM 15 for a 1ST down
Q3 8:49Tennessee+26 ydJoshua Dobbs pass complete to Jason Croom for 26 yds to the TexAM 40 for a 1ST down
Q3 7:10Tennessee+15 ydAlvin Kamara run for 15 yds for a TD, (Aaron Medley KICK)
Q3 6:33Texas A&M+0 ydTrevor Knight pass intercepted Colton Jumper return for no gain to the TexAM 28
Q3 6:07Tennessee+21 ydJohn Kelly run for 3 yds to the TexAM 20 John Kelly fumbled, forced by Hardreck Walker, recovered by TexAM Nick Harvey at TexAM 2
Q3 5:59Texas A&M+32 ydTrevor Knight pass complete to Josh Reynolds for 32 yds to the TexAM 34 for a 1ST down
Q3 4:00Tennessee+0 ydJoshua Dobbs pass intercepted Justin Evans return for no gain to the TexAM 39
Q3 2:00Tennessee+34 ydJoshua Dobbs pass complete to Alvin Kamara for 34 yds to the TexAM 48 for a 1ST down
Q4 12:36Texas A&M+22 ydKeith Ford run for 22 yds to the TexAM 30 for a 1ST down
Q4 7:06Tennessee+4 ydJohn Kelly 4 Yd Run (Aaron Medley Kick)
Q4 3:22Texas A&M+62 ydTrevor Knight run for 62 yds for a TD, (Daniel LaCamera KICK)
Q4 2:16Tennessee+36 ydAlvin Kamara run for 36 yds to the TexAM 4 for a 1ST down
Q4 2:07Tennessee+4 ydAlvin Kamara run for 4 yds for a TD, (Aaron Medley KICK)
Q4 1:49Texas A&M+71 ydTrayveon Williams run for 71 yds Trayveon Williams fumbled, forced by Malik Foreman, recovered by Tenn
Q4 1:35Tennessee+43 ydJoshua Dobbs pass complete to Tyler Byrd for 43 yds to the TexAM 42 for a 1ST down
Q4 0:41Tennessee+18 ydJoshua Dobbs pass complete to Alvin Kamara for 18 yds for a TD, (Aaron Medley KICK)
Q4 0:23Texas A&M+21 ydTrevor Knight pass complete to Christian Kirk for 21 yds to the Tenn 40 for a 1ST down
Q4 0:04Texas A&M+38 ydDaniel LaCamera 38 yd FG MISSED
Q4 0:10Texas A&M+22 ydTrayveon Williams run for 22 yds to the Tenn 18 for a 1ST down
Q5 0:00Tennessee+34 ydAaron Medley 34 yd FG GOOD
Q5 0:00Texas A&M+34 ydDaniel LaCamera 34 yd FG GOOD
Q6 0:00Texas A&M+24 ydTrevor Knight pass complete to Christian Kirk for 24 yds to the Tenn 1 for a 1ST down
Q6 0:00Texas A&M+1 ydTrevor Knight run for 1 yd for a TD, (Daniel LaCamera KICK)
Q6 0:00Tennessee+0 ydJoshua Dobbs pass intercepted Armani Watts return for no gain to the TexAM 8

Scoring plays, turnovers, and gains of 20+ yards, pulled from CFBD’s play-by-play. This section only appears for belt games with play-by-play on file (2003 onward).

Box Score

Player stats

CFBD player stats

Passing

Texas A&M

PlayerC/ATTYDSAVGTDINTQBR
Trevor Knight17/342397.02279.0

Tennessee

PlayerC/ATTYDSAVGTDINTQBR
Joshua Dobbs28/473988.51230.3
Jauan Jennings1/144.01087.0

Rushing

Texas A&M

PlayerCARYDSAVGTDLONG
Trayveon Williams282177.8171
Trevor Knight151107.3362
Keith Ford6294.8022
Team1-3-3.000

Tennessee

PlayerCARYDSAVGTDLONG
Alvin Kamara181277.1236
John Kelly13896.8118
Joshua Dobbs17573.4033
Tyler Byrd2115.508
Team1-2-2.000

Receiving

Texas A&M

PlayerRECYDSAVGTDLONG
Josh Reynolds58917.8143
Christian Kirk78011.4124
Speedy Noil23216.0027
Frank Iheanacho12424.0024
Keith Ford11414.0014
Trayveon Williams100.000

Tennessee

PlayerRECYDSAVGTDLONG
Alvin Kamara816120.1153
Jauan Jennings56813.6020
Tyler Byrd36020.0043
Jason Croom34113.7026
Josh Malone23115.5027
Ethan Wolf2147.0010
John Kelly11212.0012
Brandon Edward Johnson177.007
Joshua Dobbs144.014
Josh Walker Smith341.305
Show more stats (7 more categories)

Defense

Texas A&M

PlayerTOTSOLOSACKSTFLPDQB HURTD
Justin Evans11701200
Armani Watts9600100
Shaan Washington7300000
Donovan Wilson6411000
Nick Harvey6400200
Jarrett Johnson640.51.5000
Claude George5401000
Otaro Alaka5300100
Kingsley Keke5300010
Alex Sezer4300000
Zaycoven Henderson430.51.5000
Tyrel Dodson4100000
Myles Garrett3211000
Hardreck Walker3200000
Priest Willis3200300
Cullen Gillaspia3200000
Qualen Cunningham3100000
Richard Moore3000000
Daylon Mack300.50.5000
Reggie Chevis2000000
Daeshon Hall200.50.5140
Larry Pryor2000000
Josh Reynolds1100000
Deshawn Capers-Smith1100000
Noel Ellis1000000

Tennessee

PlayerTOTSOLOSACKSTFLPDQB HURTD
Colton Jumper10701000
Todd Kelly Jr.7400000
Elliott Berry7301000
Derek Barnett6411120
Cortez McDowell5300000
Reginald McKenzie Jr.5100.5000
Kendal Vickers4000.5000
Malik Foreman3300200
Rashaan Gaulden3200000
Danny O'Brien3100000
Corey Vereen3100010
LaTroy Lewis2201000
Micah Abernathy2200000
Emmanuel Moseley2100100
Shy Tuttle2100000
Evan Berry1100000
Baylen Buchanan1100000
Dimarya Mixon1000000
Ryan Johnson1000000

Fumbles

Texas A&M

PlayerFUMLOSTREC
Clifford Chattman001
Trayveon Williams110

Tennessee

PlayerFUMLOSTREC
Evan Berry110
John Kelly110
Team001
Joshua Dobbs220
Alvin Kamara210

Interceptions

Texas A&M

PlayerINTYDSTD
Armani Watts100
Justin Evans100

Tennessee

PlayerINTYDSTD
Todd Kelly Jr.190
Colton Jumper100

Kick Returns

Texas A&M

No recorded stats in this category.

Tennessee

PlayerNOYDSAVGLONGTD
Evan Berry36521.7320
Alvin Kamara11616.0160

Kicking

Texas A&M

PlayerFGPCTLONGXPPTS
Daniel LaCamera1/250.0346/69

Tennessee

PlayerFGPCTLONGXPPTS
Aaron Medley1/1100.0345/58

Punt Returns

Texas A&M

No recorded stats in this category.

Tennessee

PlayerNOYDSAVGLONGTD
Josh Walker Smith11616.0160
Alvin Kamara382.770

Punting

Texas A&M

PlayerNOYDSAVGTBIn 20LONG
Shane Tripucka1041941.90055

Tennessee

PlayerNOYDSAVGTBIn 20LONG
Trevor Daniel627145.20066

Full player stats from CFBD’s /games/players data, split out by team. This section only appears for belt games from 2003 onward — CFBD doesn’t have player-level stats that far back. Linked player names go to that player’s stat line in every other belt game they’ve appeared in.

Sources Box score at ESPN · Game record: College Football Data (id 400869023) · This game in the downloadable dataset