Southern Miss vs. Tennessee final score: Vols knock off Golden Eagles, 24-10

While the woes cured on Saturday night won’t help the Tennessee Volunteers in the SEC standings, it temporarily stopped the bleeding. The Vols picked up a 24-10 victory over the Southern Miss Golden Eagles, their fourth of the 2017 season and first since all the way back on September 23.

The win came despite the fact that the Vols were outgained 279-210 by the Golden Eagles. Tennessee, however, was able to score 14 points off turnovers committed by the Golden Eagles, which proved to be the difference in the game. Southern Miss coughed the ball up twice, losing one of their fumbles, and quarterback Keon Howard threw an interception to senior defensive back Emmanuel Moseley.

Running back John Kelly starred in his first action since his one-game suspension kept him out of last week’s game against the Kentucky Wildcats. Kelly scored two rushing touchdowns in the third quarter, one coming off a 20-yard run and another on a 3-yard scamper. All of UT’s touchdowns came on the ground, as quarterback Jarrett Guarantano ran for a three-yard score in the first quarter.

There wasn’t too much to take away from this game, of course. It was a nonconference win that will have no impact on their standing in the SEC. Unless the Vols can pry out a win over the Missouri Tigers, LSU Tigers and/or the Vanderbilt Commodores, they won’t be bowling. The focus has to be on Mizzou now, for better or worse.