CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Josh Heupel interjected before the next question could be asked.

After reflecting on the success of a nearly four-year rebuild of Tennessee’s defense only moments after the No. 14 Vols’ complete domination of No. 24 NC State at Bank of America Stadium late Saturday, Heupel had one more thing to add.

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“The standard at Tennessee is to be elite on defense,” Heupel said. “This is the home of Reggie White, Al Wilson, Eric Berry."

If that’s the standard, Tennessee lived up to it in its 51-10 triumph of the Wolfpack on its biggest stage of yet. The Vols (2-0) held NC State (1-1) to just 143 total yards of offense, including 39 rushing yards.

They forced three turnovers, the most important of which was safety Will Brooks' late first half interception that snuffed out one of the rare Wolfpack drives inside the 20-yard line and was taken back 85 yards to put Tennessee up two scores just before the half.

"We had a great call from the box upstairs," Brooks, a walk-on that has worked his way into a significant role in the defense, said. "Just able to read my keys and the ball just came to me and I was able to take it back to the house."

"It was a part of the straw that broke the back of them," Heupel said. "It started creating momentum for us."

Scoring opportunities for NC State were few. That was one of them.

The Vols haven't allowed an offensive touchdown in 12-straight quarters going back to their dismantling of Iowa in the Citrus Bowl on Jan. 1. And it wasn't just one position group that shined. It was as complete of a defensive game that Tennessee has put together in the last four years.

It's heralded defensive line never allowed the Wolfpack to establish any kind of rhythm in the run game and quarterback Grayson McCall had very little time to add anything in the passing game, getting sacked three times.

MORE FROM VOLREPORT: Key takeaways: questions both answered and raised in Vols' win over NC State

NC State's do-it-all wide receiver in Kevin Concepcion, who had 121 yards the week before, was virtually a non-factor against Tennessee, catching three of his five passes on the Wolfpack's opening drive.

That drive and the one that ended in Brooks' interception was the only glimmers of hope the entire night. NC State converted on three third downs on its first possession. It went 0-of-9 the rest of the game.

"Just an elite performance, from really start to finish," Heupel said. "Played so well against the run, tight coverage, applied pressure to the quarterback...Proud of what they did."

Perhaps the most promising takeaway from Tennessee was that it's offense wasn't exactly crisp.

One week after nearly tying a program record for total yards, the Vols and their new full-time superstar quarterback Nico Iamaleava looked mortal for the most part, though they still managed 460 yards of total offense.

Playing on a short field, helped. That assist goes to a defense that twice forced turnover on downs, two fumbles that were recovered on the Wolfpack side of the field and 11 tackles for loss.

MORE FROM VOLREPORT: Everything Josh Heupel said after Tennessee downed NC State

"We have a long field on offense and a short field on defense," NC State head coach Dave Doeren said. "I mean, against a team like that, that scores like they do, you can’t win."

Now there's a blueprint for Tennessee's defensive success that largely hasn't been there the previous three years--the product of more depth.

On a night where the Vols turned the ball over twice themselves and wasn't able to finish off drives with touchdowns for two quarters, it was the defense that made the difference.

"I love the future of what we have over there," Heupel said.

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