Tennessee has had one of the best starts to the season of any team in the country.
And on Saturday against Kent State, the seventh-ranked Vols had one of the best starts to a game they could possibly have. The Volunteers had 283 yards of offense in the opening quarter while holding Kent State to minus-29 yards.
The 37 points set a new program record for a single quarter.
Quarterback Nico Iamaleava completed 9 of his 12 passes for 157 yards and a touchdown. Tailback Dylan Sampson ran 10 times for 66 yards and 3 scores. DeSean Bishop had a 53-yard rushing touchdown as well.
Sampson got the scoring rolling with a 22-yard run to cap off a 7-play, 73-yard drive. On the very next possession, the Vols recorded a safety to take a 9-0 lead. Sampson capped a 7-play, 48-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown just minutes later.
With 6 minutes remaining in the frame, Iamaleava flicked his wrist and bombed a 53-yard pass to Chris Brazzell II.
Nico 53 yard deep ball to Chris Brazzell, TOUCHDOWN pic.twitter.com/YnWzczEpFC
— gmannVOLS (@gmannVOLS) September 15, 2024
Two minutes later, Bishop had his highlight moment.
DeSean Bishop 53 yard run, TOUCHDOWN pic.twitter.com/xhTms4t6Rv
— gmannVOLS (@gmannVOLS) September 15, 2024
And if things weren’t already bad enough, Tennessee coach Josh Heupel called for an onside kick up by 30 points. And his team recovered it. Tennessee handed off to Sampson for a 1-yard score as the clock hit zeroes in the frame.
Tennessee just attempted and recovered an onside kick up 30-0 in the first quarter…
Not something you see every day.
— Always College Football (@AlwaysCFB) September 15, 2024
Maybe Heupel wanted to throw in an extra wrinkle for OU to prepare for ahead of next week’s major clash in Norman. Though, judging by the first 15 minutes of play on Saturday, the Sooners already have enough to worry about with this buzzing Volunteer offense.
With the Vols well on their way to a 3-0 start and another massive blowout, expect most TN betting sites to install the Vols as a healthy road favorite over the Sooners in Week 4. Tennessee closed as a 49.5-point favorite over the Golden Flashes and that may not have even been enough.
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
