Tennessee used a strong defensive performance against Utah State to dominate them from start to finish in a 38-7 win. Tennessee quarterback Justin Worley also had a good game by throwing for 273 yards and 3 touchdowns.
Tennessee got the ball rolling on their second drive. Worley went 3 of 3 for 52 yards and Pig Howard ran in from 8 yards out on a jet sweep to give the Volunteers the 7-0 lead.
The ensuing kickoff saw Utah State's Kennedy Williams take the ball out from his own end zone, reach the 12 yard, and he fumbled the ball. Tennessee's Todd Kelly Jr. recovered the ball. One play later, Worley found Brendan Downs for a 12 yard touchdown pass and the Volunteers doubled their advantage to 14-0 within the opening six minutes.
Utah State continued to struggle on offense. Chuckie Keeton was constantly harassed and rushed throughout the first half. The Aggies offense did not get past the 50 yard line in the first half.
The opposite was true for Tennessee. They were constantly in Utah State territory, but only managed to get 3 points for the remainder of the half, courtesy of Aaron Medley's 36 yard field goal. The Volunteers took a 17-0 lead into halftime.
Utah State came out in the second half and did well to move the ball to Tennessee's 30 yard line. However, the drive stalled out there and Jake Thompson's 48 yard field goal was wide left to keep Utah State off the board.
Tennessee came back down the field off the miss with a 13 play, 69-yard drive. Worley's wide receiver screen pass was taken to the end zone by Von Pearson with some blazing speed and shoddy tackling by Utah State. The lead grew to 24-0 and Tennessee was on cruise control from there.
Tennessee made it 31-0 when Worley found Jalen Hurd for a 15 yard touchdown pass that highlighted some nifty moves by Hurd.
Utah State got on the board in two plays on the ensuing drive. A 39 yard run by JoJo Natson was followed up by a 37 yard touchdown pass from Keeton to Hunter Sharp. It was a small consolation on a night when the Utah State offense could not get much going.
A.J. Johnson's interception of Keeton's pass set Tennessee up on the Utah State 11 yard line. Two plays later, Marlin Lane got into the end zone from 7 yards out.
Outside of Worley's performance, no other Volunteers stood out on offense. It was a team effort. Marlin Lane had 41 yards rushing a touchdown on 11 carries. Jalen Hurd had 29 yards rushing on 11 carries. Seven different receivers caught at least two passes and had at least 26 yards receiving. The leading receiver was Josh Smith with 3 catches for 48 yards.
Chuckie Keeton had a frustrating evening. He went 18 of 35 for 144 yards, 1 touchdown, and 2 interceptions. In addition, he only had 12 yards rushing on 8 attempts. JoJo Natson led the Aggies in rushing with 47 yards on 2 attempts. Brandon Swindall had 37 yards receiving on 5 catches and Hunter Sharp had 2 catches for 37 yards and 1 touchdown. Utah State will take on FCS Idaho State next week at home.
Tennessee will face Arkansas State in a potential trap game. The Volunteers have a road trip to play the Oklahoma Sooners on September 13. For now, the Volunteers need to focus on Arkansas State after an excellent opening win against the Utah State Aggies.