Notebook: Vols' offense explodes against Carolina to set up date with Lane

KNOXVILLE, TENN — Tennessee cruised to a 45-20 win over South Carolina on Saturday afternoon inside of Neyland Stadium.

The Vols improved to 4-2 on the season and 2-1 in conference play courtesy of 38 first half points. Tennessee scored 28 points in the first quarter for a second consecutive week.

“Really good team win," Josh Heupel said following the game. "Excited for the guys in the locker room. They were excited too... Obviously the first half I thought all three phases played well."

Tennessee did anything and everything it wanted to against the Gamecocks over the first 30 minutes. The Vols tallied 373 yards and held Carolina to 181 yards in the opening half, while going 8-for-9 on third downs and averaging 8.7 yards per play. They turned the Gamecocks over twice with a Jaylen McCollough interception in the red zone and an Aaron Beasley fumble recovery.

The explosive first half came just a week after Tennessee exploded for 45 points in the opening half against Missouri on its way to scoring 62 points.

“Great preparation," Heupel said of the fast starts. "Great focus. Understanding what you’re going to see from the other side of the football. See something different, being able to adjust. Had to do that a week ago. And then execute. Those were great things we saw early in the first half of the football game."

Tennessee went on to finish with 472 yards of offense. It committed just two penalties, didn't turn the football over, was 12-for-17 on third down, averaged 6.6 yards a play, 13.2 yards a completion and were 4-for-4 in the red zone.

Second Half Woes

It was a tale of two halves against the Gamecocks for Tennessee. After a dominating first half, the Vols took their foot off the gas in the second half.

Tennessee took a 38-7 lead into halftime, but scored just seven points in the second half on a two-yard rushing touchdown from Len'Neth Whitehead. The Vols tallied just 99 yards of offense over the final half of play and averaged 3.3 yards of offense.

White UT's offense sputtered, South Carolina scored 13 second half points on 189 yards of offense.

"Some things in the second half that you can’t do," Heupel said. "It’s a great learning lesson for our players. Just the competitive edge and how fine of a line it is. You have to be on the right side of that for 60 minutes. You pull off just a little bit, you lose focus just a little bit, and all of a sudden the things that were happening don’t transpire in the second half. So some things we have to be better at, coaching staff included.

"Overall a great win for our program. Enjoy it tonight and then get to work next for a really good football team (Ole Miss).”

Next Man Up

Tennessee was able to take care of South Carolina despite several players being unavailable due to injury. Both sides of the ball were impacted.

On offense, Tennessee was without running back Jabari Small and starting center Cooper Mays for the fourth time in five games.

The absentee list on defense was much longer. Starting nickleback Theo Jackson, backup nickle Doneiko Slaughter, freshman safety Christian Charles, starting linebacker Juwan Mitchell and senior defensive lineman LaTrell Bumphus did not play.

Still, the Vols managed to take care of business.

“There were some new guys out there today," Heupel said. "They showed up, they played assignment sound and communicated the right way. Played extremely hard. A lot to be proud of with a lot of guys back there."

Al Wilson Honored

Tennessee honored Al Wilson for his upcoming induction into the College Football Hall of Fame throughout the course of the day on Saturday.

The University held a dinner for Wilson and his teammates on Friday night, he led the team on the Vol Walk bright and early, was honored on the field during halftime and spoke with the team following the win. And in fitting fashion, a No. 27 scored a touchdown.

"Got a lot of former great players back, with Al (Wilson) being here," Heupel said. "Happy to gave those guys around. It’s good, too. Al talked to the team a little bit at the end. He’s got passion and emotion for the Power T and this football program. And it was a great message for our guys, too."

“His presence, you feel it when he walks into the locker room," McCollough said. "You just feel it when he’s around. The biggest takeaway I got was just how special playing in Neyland is. Playing with that T on your chest, it’s just bigger than you. Taking that away from the legend himself just meant a lot.”

“I didn’t really know anything about Al Wilson until I got here," Brandon Turnage added. "We had talked about him in previous weeks from now, like today the energy he brought into the locker room after the game – I like him, I like him.”

Other Tidbits

- Brandon Turnage honored Wilson in the best way possible as he was one of the next guys up that Heupel referenced. Turnage played well and played with his heart on his sleeve as Wilson would prefer while filling in for Theo Jackson.

"Brandon Turnage — the guy played, I’m not going to say flawless because I haven’t watched the tape yet, but he played rock solid today," Heupel said. "A great effort by him.”

Turnage led the team with 14 tackles and added two tackles for a loss. Seven of his tackles were of the solo variety.

“It was just truly a blessing," Turnage said. "Coach every day, every week talks about everybody being ready, everybody being prepared. My name was called, and I went out there and do what I have to do.”

- Jalin Hyatt also stepped to the plate. The sophomore receiver has gotten off to a slow start this season and has seen his playing time wither. But on the opening drive of the game, he made a great catch to haul in a 3-yard touchdown.

"We believe in Jalin as a player," Heupel said. "He’s only going to continue to get better... Jalin had a really good day today.”

- Heupel on the fans enjoying Tennessee's new offense: “I hope they enjoy the heck out of it. We’re going to play fast and physical in all three phases of the game. Offensively, yeah, we’re probably a little bit different than what’s happened (in the past). The defense, too. The ability to be multiple, to be aggressive. Our kids are competing really hard. I think that’s the first step to making this fanbase and this state extremely proud of who we are on the football field.”

- Heupel on what he thinks recruits are starting to see out of Tennessee: “For a long time, when you take over a program, you’re talking about what you’re going to look like. The team you’re building is on the football field. With it being a dead period, once June hit, we were able to get them around us. Young men that are looking for right things in their college football experience, I think gravitated towards our program. Now you get an opportunity to see what it looks like on the field. We want to be one of the fastest, most aggressive teams on the field every single Saturday. Some people approach that with, hey, that’s an offensive mindset. No, that’s how we want to be in all three phases of the football game. I know recruits are seeing that week in and week out. They can see us growing as a football program. To see the fun that our players are having in the buildup of the week. And how they perform on Saturday. They see how hard we’re playing as a family. When you do those things, you know the foundation of your program is really solid to be able to do those things as we continue to grow.”

Stats to know

- Saturday’s attendance at Neyland Stadium: 89,437

- With the win, Tennessee is now 28-10-2 against South Carolina and have won three straight. The Vols are 18-2 against the Gamecocks in Knoxville.

- Tennessee’s captains: P Paxton Brooks, OL Jerome Carvin, DB Alontae Taylor and TE Jacob Warren

- Edge rusher Byron Young and defensive back Brandon Turnage made their first career starts.

- Tennessee has scored 249 points in six games this season — surpassing last year’s 10-game total of 215.

- The Vols have scored 107 points in its last two games, the most in a two-game stretch since scoring 112 in back-to-back wins over Kentucky (49) and Missouri (63) in November 2016.

- After outscoring the Gamecocks 28-0 in the first quarter on Saturday, the Vols have now outscored opponents 101-13 in the first quarter of games this season.

- Cedric Tillman had a career-high six receptions, totaling 59 yards

- Len’Neth Whitehead scored his first career touchdown with a 2-yard rush in the fourth quarter.

- Hendon Hooker became the first Tennessee quarterback to throw multiple touchdowns in five consecutive games since Tyler Bray had multiple passing TDs in six straight games to begin the 2012 season. Hooker has recorded at least three passing touchdowns and one rushing touchdown in three games this season. He is the first Volunteer quarterback to accomplish that feat since Joshua Dobbs had five such games in 2016.

- JaVonta Payton has caught at least one touchdown in each of the last four games, becoming the first Vol with a four-game TD streak since Josh Malone had five straight such games in 2016. All four of Payton’s touchdown grabs have gone for at least 29 yards.

- Tennessee had 10 tackles for a loss in the game. It was the third game this season the Vols had double-digit TFLs. It is the first time since the 2017 season UT’s defense made 10 or more TFLs in three games.

- Linebacker Aaron Beasley set a new career-high in tackles for the third consecutive, racking nine total stops.

- Defensive lineman Ja’Quain Blakely had a career-high six tackles, including one TFL.

- Corner Alontae Taylor had three pass breakups for a new career-best.

- Defensive end Matthew Butler recorded his first sack of the season and now has 5.5 in his career.

Box Score

Post Game Interviews

Up Next

Tennessee now turns its attention to Ole Miss. The Vols will welcome the 17th-ranked Rebels (4-1, 1-1 SEC) to Neyland Stadium next Saturday night for a date with Lane Kiffin in primetime at 7:30 p.m. ET on the SEC Network.