By Jimmy Hyams
Quite often, you don’t learn much in a one-sided rout over an outmanned opponent.
But in Tennessee’s case, I learned two things.
One, the Vols won’t suffer a letdown after a big win.
Two, Tennessee won’t lose to a team with inferior talent.
Tennessee destroyed UT-Martin 65-24 Saturday afternoon while celebrating homecoming at Neyland Stadium.
The game wasn’t as close as the final score. The Vols led 52-7 in the second quarter and rested quarterback Hendon Hooker before halftime.
This came after a thrilling, exhausting, emotional draining, cigar smoking, goalpost removing victory over top-ranked Alabama the week before.
Tennessee was primed for a letdown. Instead, the Vols hammered the Skyhawks with an offensive blitz that left the visitors gasping for air.
Tennessee scored a touchdown on seven of its eight first-half possessions. The Vols had 52 points at halftime and could have scored 100 if coach Josh Heupel had left in his starters.
The third-ranked Vols (7-0) have too much fun to go through the motions. They enjoy trying to score on every possession. They like the challenge of zipping quickly downfield and hearing the band play Rocky Top.
When a program has been mired in mediocrity for the better part of 15 years, you relish the chance to have success.
Quarterback Hendon Hooker was masterful again. The Heisman Trophy candidate completed 18 of 24 passes for 276 yards and three touchdowns before retiring for the day.
Jalin Hyatt picked up where he left off the week before with seven catches for 173 yards and two touchdowns. He now has 12 receiving touchdowns to lead the nation. He is one shy of the UT single-season record.
Tight end Princeton Fant proved to be a Swiss Army knife. He threw a beautiful 66-yard scoring pass to Hyatt on a lateral from Joe Milton.
The play conjured up memories of Von Reeves throwing a tight-end-around touchdown pass against Florida in a 45-3 rout in 1990.
Fant also scored twice on runs.
His only miscue was dropping a TD pass from Hooker in the first quarter.
Fant has scored this season via run and thrown pass. He is waiting for his first scoring reception.
Tennessee has now scored 351 points, which is more than the Vols scored in all of 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020. UT is on pace to shatter last season’s 511 points.
That leads us to our second point.
Tennessee’s uptempo offense assures UT won’t get upset.
It demolishes good defenses. It destroys average defenses. It obliterates weak defenses.
Because UT’s offense is so efficient, it won’t lose to a lesser team.
It probably won’t lose to a team with equal talent.
And it will upset high ranked teams.
Heupel’s offense is a masterpiece, a Mona Lisa.
It can rarely be stopped.
Pitt did the best job of containing UT’s attack.
But that is a rarity.
Maybe Georgia can put a lid of UT’s offense. But after watching Tennessee score 52 on Nick Saban’s SEC-leading defense, I could see UT scoring in the 40s on Georgia.
Next on the UT docket is Kentucky this Saturday at 7 p.m.
UT needed less than 15 minutes time of possession to beat Kentucky in Lexington last year 45-42.
It might be another shootout.
If so, my money is on Tennessee’s firing the last shot.
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