Offensive Report Card: Tennessee Vs Kent State

The Vols had a great game offensively putting up 71 points over the Golden Flashes

Tennessee running back Dylan Sampson (6) tries to get is foot away from Kent State defensive back Armahn Hale (29) during a NCAA game between Tennessee and Kent State in Neyland Stadium in Knoxville on Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. / Angelina Alcantar/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Tennessee Vols are coming off a great win over the Kent State Golden Flashes that landed them in the record books for the third week in a row. The Vols walked away with a 71-0 victory after putting together a 65-point first half which is the most by any FBS team in over 20 years.

A lot of the thanks would be given to the offense for their performance.

Check out the official offensive grades from the blowout win on Saturday.

Quarterbacks: A

The Vols had some great quarterbacking in this one as well as had the chance to see not one quarterback but five different quarterbacks. Nico Iamaleava did his thing as he only threw 16 passes due to being pulled in the second quarter following a hit start for the Vols but he did throw for a 53-yard touchdown that connected with Chris Brazzell. Gaston Moore would then come in and light up the Golden Flashes’ defense as he connected with Mike Matthews for the wideout's first career touchdown and Miles Kistelman for another touchdown. The second half started off with true freshman Jake Merklinger who looked a bit stiff at times but didn’t have much to do in the passing game as the second half was a run-heavy system for Tennessee. Navy Shuler and Ryan Damron both saw playing time but did not attempt a pass.

Running Backs: A+

The closest game you could get to being perfect! The running backs had multiple touchdowns including four from star running back Dylan Sampson who had 101 yards on 13 carries and two from DeSean Bishop who was the second option. Bishop had 120 yards on 7 carries. In the second half a big name to watch was Peyton Lewis who ran the ball 10 times and had 99 yards on the ground. Hunter Barnes did get a little bit of playing time as he has 7 carries himself with 38 yards to show.

Wide Receivers: A

The wideouts did a great job as Matthews and Brazzell both got touchdowns however the leading receiver was still Dont’e Thornton Jr. who had 64 yards. Chas Nimrod got serious playing time as well even being a starter for the game. Squirrel White once again didn’t have a great game as the game plan seems to be more so involving other wideouts.

Tight Ends: A

The Vols tight ends did a great job blocking as they had many lead blocking opportunities and they capitalized a ton in this system. The usage of tight ends continues to improve under Josh Heupel and Iamaleava.

Offensive Line: A+

Another A+ for the Vols as this offensive line did a great job protecting the QBs and allowing the running backs to gain open holes. Every touchdown that was 20+ yards was a wide-open gap thanks to this offensive line. The Golden Flashes only had one sack and two tackles for a loss.