Nick Reveiz
Nick Reveiz
Luke Stocker

KNOXVILLE -- University of Tennessee football players weren't surprised by coach Lane Kiffin's frustration through the first quarter of Saturday's season opener against Western Kentucky. The Volunteers didn't run a third-down play in the period and they didn't punt, but they didn't score because of two turnovers.

Some of the players were taken aback at halftime, though. Four second-half touchdowns gave the Vols a 28-0 halftime lead, but coaches still preferred tail-kicking over back-patting in the locker room.

"We really got into them," Kiffin said. "They weren't playing at the level that we needed them to play.

"They came in at halftime feeling pretty good about themselves, and that's not what championship teams do."

Reigning national champion Florida had a 42-0 lead over Charleston Southern at halftime Saturday night, and the Gators continued to punish until the late stages of a 62-3 win. Texas turned a 38-10 halftime advantage over Louisiana-Monroe into a 59-13 fourth-quarter lead.

Southern California, where Kiffin cut his college-coordinating teeth, trailed 3-0 after one quarter to San Jose State before waking up for a 56-3 onslaught.

Staff Photo by Patrick Smith
Tennessee freshman running back Bryce Brown tries to break through Western Kentucky defenders during Saturday's game at Neyland Stadium.

That's the kind of second half Kiffin wanted to see from his Vols, and that's essentially what they gave him in a 63-7 thrashing of NCAA Division I's newest Bowl Championship Subdivision program.

"We treated them like a top-ranked opponent," UT junior All-America safety Eric Berry said.

Southeastern Conference athletes playing with rivalry intensity against a non-BCS conference program tend to leave lopsided scores. Saturday's big margin is important in Tennessee's grand scheme and particularly pertinent this week.

UCLA, which started the 2008 downward spiral with a come-from-behind upset of the ranked Vols last season in the Rose Bowl, visits Tennessee this Saturday.

"We're really just trying to get our personality as a team on film, so when people start seeing film, and seeing us, and seeing how we play, we want to be a physical but smart team," Berry said. "Coach preaches that all the time. The film from this game that we just played is part of our resume.

"We're just trying to build that resume up and send it out to our opponents, and let them know what they're in for."

UCLA surged again from a slow start Saturday. The Bruins trailed San Diego State 14-3 late in the first quarter but then scored 30 unanswered points.

"I really can't tell you very much, because we haven't watched them on film, but we do know from last year that they're a good team," Berry said. "They're well-coached, and they're fundamentally sound. We're going to have to be on top of our game next week and know what we're supposed to be doing, because they are that type of team."

As happy as Kiffin was with his players' positive vibes in the immediate aftermath of a convincing win, he sternly reminded them just before parting ways Saturday that they weren't suddenly mid-1990s Vols.

"It's just one game," Kiffin said. "And this is how we expect to play. We have high expectations here. It does not surprise me, the way these numbers are. That's how it should be. Our players need to continue to understand that.

"We just talked to them about understanding that this was one game, and now it's over. It's a long season. We've got to go to next week, and we've got to figure out how to play better next week than we did this week."

Junior middle linebacker Nick Reveiz acknowledged that UT was expected to top the Hilltoppers decisively.

"We're trying to get this program back where it needs to be, and it hasn't been there," Reveiz said after the game. "I think today was the first step, but I think next week's going to be stiffer competition, and we've really got to get ready for them.

"If you lose or you win, really, you've got 24 hours to get it out of your system. And that's all we can do this time, because UCLA's coming to town."