NC State was on the cusp of swinging momentum.
Will Brooks snatched it back, ran with it 85 yards for a touchdown and obliterated the Wolfpack’s best chance at an offensive touchdown.
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Brooks’ interception return for a score in Tennessee’s 51-10 romping of NC State last Saturday night in Charlotte all but secured the third-straight game that the Vols’ defense has kept a team out of the end zone dating back to a 35-0 victory against Iowa in the Citrus Bowl on Jan. 1.
It is a feat that a Tennessee team hadn’t accomplished since 1985 when the Vols didn't surrender a touchdown in a three-game stretch against Georgia Tech, Rutgers and Memphis State during their SEC championship and Sugar Bowl run that season.
The No. 7 Vols (2-0) are teetering on being historically elite on defense in 2024, a positive sign just two weeks into the season. There was optimism going back to that bowl game that Tennessee would improve with an embarrassment of depth on the defensive line, a healthy linebacking corps and some new pieces in the secondary. But to this extent this early might have come as a surprise.
To fourth-year defensive coordinator Tim Banks, though, it hasn't.
"I don't know about exceeded, but we are definitely playing hard. Like I tell guys all the time, we have been building this thing since day one, since we got here," Banks said. "I have a really good staff, and we have good kids playing hard. I was not surprised at how hard we played. Still obviously a lot of things we want to get better at and things we want to improve on...
Our standard is our standard in terms of how hard we want to play and how tough we want to be. So as long as we continue to do that, we think we have a chance to continue to build."
What Banks hasn't paid attention to is the stats. He said Tuesday that he was unaware that Tennessee has gone 12 quarters without giving up a touchdown, holding teams to an average of 181.0 yards per game and totaling 26 tackles for loss in that span. He is likely even less aware that it's something a Vols' team has done in the last 39 years.
That falls in line with what he has said since he joined Heupel's Tennessee staff in 2021, deciding to focus more on what he sees in-game than what the box scores or record books say after.
"Every game is different. We just want to go out there and be the best that we can be every single rep," Banks said. "As cliché as that sounds, that is the honest to God truth. I do not look at stats. I told you guys that when I first got here. I had no idea. We just know from snap-to-snap that we want to be at our best. If that is what the result is, so be it."
MORE FROM VOLREPORT: Get to know Max Gilbert, Tennessee's new starting placekicker
The results indicate that Banks' four-year rebuild of the Vols' defense is putting them on par with the upper echelon of the SEC and making for a lethal combination with an improved offense for opponents.
Sterner tests await Tennessee, which will play Kent State (0-2) at Neyland Stadium on Saturday (7:45 p.m. ET, SEC Network) in its final tuneup before SEC play begins at No. 15 Oklahoma next week.
"That's hard for any defense, to shut out three teams consecutively with no touchdowns," Tennessee defensive back Jakobe Thomas said. "It's crazy. That's something that's very, very rare to do. We are very proud to say we have done it but we have to keep going this week and the next week."
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