Kennesaw State brought the Owls to Neyland for a night game. Tennessee answered by putting the running backs on the late shift.
No. 15 Tennessee closed its nonconference schedule at 3–0 with a 42–9 win that was comfortable without always being crisp. The Vols scored on seven of nine possessions, ran for 268 yards and never allowed Kennesaw State into the end zone.
That sounds like a complete evening, and in the ways that matter most, it was. But this was also the last rehearsal before No. 1 Texas comes to Knoxville. Tennessee looked ready in stretches and ordinary in others. Against the Owls, ordinary was plenty.
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Morris After Dark
Daune Morris did not need the whole night. Fourteen carries were enough.
The sophomore became Tennessee's first 100-yard rusher of the evening and broke the game open with a 42-yard third-quarter touchdown. What had been a workmanlike 21–3 halftime lead became 28–3 in four plays.
Morris supplied the burst, but the larger story was the room around him. DeSean Bishop opened the scoring. Faizon Brandon kept one for a touchdown. Hunter Barnes finished a 75-yard drive with the first score of his Tennessee career. Four runners, four touchdowns and 268 yards on the ground.
That is depth. It is also a useful message to send one week before Texas arrives: Tennessee has more than one way to carry the night.
Tennessee opened with an eight-play, 75-yard drive capped by Bishop's three-yard touchdown. Kennesaw State answered with a long march of its own, holding the ball for 7:41 before settling for a field goal. The Owls were not dangerous, but they were patient enough to keep Tennessee from turning the first half into a track meet.
Brandon found Braylon Staley for a 13-yard touchdown late in the first quarter, then Luca Wolf carried in the two-point conversion. Two Ranvier field goals and a Tyree Weathersby fumble recovery sent Tennessee to halftime ahead 21–3.
The second half looked more like the game Tennessee expected. Morris broke loose. Brandon finished a 71-yard drive with his legs. Barnes supplied the last Tennessee touchdown. Meanwhile, the defense bent for three Kennesaw State field goals but never surrendered the one thing the Owls wanted most.
Brandon completed 18 of 26 passes for 178 yards and a touchdown, then added 47 rushing yards and another score. It was not the five-touchdown debut or the road response at Georgia Tech. It did not need to be. He protected the football, moved the offense and let the backfield do the heavy running.
The defense allowed 291 yards, including 189 through the air, but Arion Carter supplied eight tackles, a sack, two tackles for loss and a quarterback hurry. Tennessee also cleaned up the flags, dropping from 142 penalty yards at Georgia Tech to only 20.
Now the warmup is over. Tennessee is unbeaten, the freshman quarterback is still growing and the running back room looks deep enough to work every shift. Next Saturday, No. 1 Texas comes through the door.
The B.O.S.S. Bottom Line
Tennessee handled the Owls, protected its quarterback and let four runners find the end zone. It was not a masterpiece. It was a 33-point win, a 3–0 record and the last quiet Saturday before Texas changes the volume.
Game information, statistics and scoring plays: University of Tennessee Athletics.