Dylan Sampson ran for 101 yards and four touchdowns, all in the first half, to lead No. 7 Tennessee to a 71-0 win over Kent State on Saturday night.
Sampson has now rushed for over 100 yards in four consecutive games, including last season’s Citrus Bowl.
“(Sampson) has great vision and great pace,” Tennessee coach Josh Heupel said. “He presses the line of scrimmage and is elusive in space.”
“You can only control what you’ve got in the moment,” Sampson said. “That’s how you find out who you are. The (running back) position is all about grit.”
DeSean Bishop contributed with 120 rushing yards and two touchdowns in the first half for the Volunteers (3-0). They led 65-0 at halftime, which is the highest point total in one half in school history. The 71 points scored is also the most in modern-era school history.
The Golden Flashes (0-3) managed only 23 total yards in the first half. They were given the option to have a running clock in the second half but chose not to accept it.
“That is not who we are as a team or a culture,” Kent State coach Kenni Burns said about the clock adjustment. “I talked to the captains about it and they said absolutely not.”
Heupel did not comment on the decision.
Tennessee scored 37 points in the first quarter, the most ever in a single quarter for the school. During those first 15 minutes, there was a safety, two snaps over the Kent State quarterback’s head, and an onside kick recovered by the Vols.
“We have a really young football team,” Burns said. “There was an obvious mismatch in personnel. We did not knock the ball down when we had the chance to.”
Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava completed 10 of 16 passes for 173 yards and a touchdown and ran for 31 yards.
“We still have a lot more to improve on,” Iamaleava said. “Every day we want to be 1% better.”
The Tennessee defense has now gone 16 quarters, dating back to the bowl game, without allowing a touchdown.
