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NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Josh Heupel walks into a mess in Tennessee with players running for the transfer portal after the university sacked the previous coach and nine others in January 2021.
Now, Heupel and his Vols could point to a very quick turning point with the promise of more to come.
Jaylen Wright run for 160 yards and hit the ball twice in five runs, with Little Jabari run two more points as ninth-ranked Tennessee has never fallen short of state rival Vanderbilt 56-0 on a windy Saturday night.
Volunteers (10-2, 6-2 Southeast Conference) recovered from the loss two of their last three matches for the first 10 wins in the regular season since 2003 in Heupel’s sophomore season and the first since 2007. The losses took the Vols from First in the inaugural College Football Playoff rankings to the 10th.
Heupel noted that more than 30 players had already left Tennessee when he arrived, and the coach applauded the team for choosing to stay and buy what he and his staff wanted. The Volunteers are still “far from perfect” right now.
“We got this program on track,” says Heupel. “Bright future.”
Tennessee won its fourth straight win, and this was never in doubt as the Vols took a 21-0 lead after halftime and scored another 21 goals in the third inning for their first game. They have been in this competition since a 48-0 win in 2003.
Wright scored at 50 and 83 yards, while Small ran for 48 yards. Dylan Sampson added an 80-yard runner in the fourth inning as Tennessee ran six TDs. It was the first time Tennessee has two TD runs of 80 yards or more in the same game.
“When I see the hole, I just hit it,” says Wright.
The Vols ran more yards (362) than Vanderbilt in total fouls (254).
Vanderbilt (5-7, 2-6) missed a bad opportunity in coach Clark Lea’s second season. Commodores’ had their two-game SEC winning streak. That record ended the tournament’s 26-game losing streak that began in 2019. They also more than doubled their two-game winning streak last year.
“We are very disappointed at the moment and tonight is painful,” Lea said. “I hurt for our team. I hurt for our fans. I hurt for our program to make the strides we’ve made, we wanted the chance to extend the season. We failed.”
Joe Milton started his first and third seasons since moving from Michigan last year, replacing Whore Hendonwho clung to her roommate from the sidelines despite shedding tears His left ACL last week. Milton made his first three passes, including one 61 yards to Jalin Hyatt to set up Small’s first TD on a 3-yard TD run.
Milton said of Hooker: “When he was injured and down, it was really just playing for him.
Milton finished with the most passes for 147 yards in Tennessee with his only touch being the 7-yard runner to Walker Merrill In the third time.
Dee Williams hit back with a 73-yard pitch to give Tennessee a 21-0 lead midway through the second half, grabbing his left hamstring after crossing the line before dancing in celebration.
CARRIED AWAY
Tennessee: The Vols come in as the nation’s top offensive team both in yards and points. With the rain, they showed they could score quickly on the ground as well as in the air with four TDs from 48 yards or more. Five TD rides took 55 seconds or less for the longest of the game’s first runs.
Vanderbilt: Commodores begins Mike Wright, who led them to victories over Kentucky and Florida. But he struggled to throw in the Tennessee defense that missed 453 yards last week. freshman AJ Swann, who missed those games with an unspecified injury, took over in the third inning and threw 79 yards, but failed to complete the fourth throw-in into the bottom area in the fourth inning. Lea says that Wright came back late to help protect Swann.
Strong Arms
Milton’s strong arm was on display throughout the night. He took the opportunity to bring the Volunteers up even more. He toppled several open receivers, of which at least three could be grounded.
NEXT
Tennessee waits and hopes for a landing in the Sugar or Orange Bowl.
Vanderbilt began perfecting Lea’s next recruiting class after more than doubling last year’s two-win total.
