Tennessee's Jalen Hurd (1) prepares to stiff-arm Vanderbilt's Tre Hendron (31). The Vanderbilt Commodores visited the Tennessee Volunteers in SEC football action November 28, 2015.KNOXVILLE - Tennessee flirted with a little bit of history Saturday during its 53-28 rout of visiting Vanderbilt.
For a little while in the second half, the Volunteers were on the verge of having three 100-yard rushers in the same game for the second time in program history and the first time since 1991.
Even though Alvin Kamara and Josh Dobbs came a combined 8 yards short of joining Jalen Hurd (120 yards), Tennessee's players and staff have to be thrilled with the program's most productive rushing game in more than 20 years.
"Me and Dobbs, we're on the sideline talking towards the end of the fourth, and we were trying to go back in," Kamara said. "It says a lot. It speaks volumes to the O-line. They've been working hard on all year to become more solid of an O-line. They bond with us, and we get along really well.
"We wish we could've gotten three hundred-yard rushers. It would have been a good little sales pitch. But it was fun."
Vanderbilt was the sixth team Tennessee has faced this season with a defense ranked in the top 24 nationally in total defense, and the Vols averaged 216.8 yards in those games after rushing for 331 on Saturday.
Tennessee's 2,682 yards were the most in any regular season since 1989. The Vols recorded eight 200-yard games and two 300-yard games.
"I can't say enough about our offensive line and how much they've grown and developed," coach Butch Jones said. "Our wide receivers take great pride in their blocking. Our tight ends have improved greatly in their blocking. We have some talented running backs as well.
"When you add that all together, it makes for a great mix of being able to do some special things."
Tennessee ranked 92nd nationally in rushing last season, averaging 146 yards per game.
This season's average increased to 223.5 after Saturday's big game.
"We've got a three-headed monster with Dobbs, Jalen and Kamara," left tackle Kyler Kerbyson said. "That just gives us running lanes all over the place, and it it hard for defenses to stop.
"Vandy, to their credit, they were doing a good job of stopping some of our runs, and we had to adjust and we had to pick out different plays to run, because they were stopping some of them.
"I just love blocking for these guys. It's pretty easy, I would say."
Really special teams
Cameron Sutton scored Tennessee's program-record sixth special-teams touchdown of the season with an 85-yard punt return in the second quarter.
Mark Elder is Tennessee's special-teams coordinator, but the Vols split up the various units among their coaching staff, and wide receivers coach Zach Azzanni actually handles the punt-return unit.
"The coaching staff does a great job week in and week out with the game plan," Sutton said. "My front 10 do an amazing job of creating alleys and lanes for me to run through. Without them it's not possible.
"My just is to catch the ball, first and foremost, and secure the ball and get it back to our offense. Whatever happens after that, hopefully it's positive for the offense.
"I always joke with the O-line and stuff about keeping them off the field as much as possible."
On his third career punt-return touchdown, Sutton broke Tennessee's single-season record for punt-return yards.
"Any time we're out there on the field on punt return or kick return," he said, "we're trying to make game-changing plays and spark this team."
Third the charm
Tennessee's defense made Vanderbilt look like an explosive offense in the first half, as the Commodores, ranked near the bottom of the SEC in every major offensive category, racked up 276 yards, nearly their season average in SEC games.
Five plays of 15 or more yards accounted for 145 of those yards.
The tide shifted in the third quarter, though, when Vanderbilt had just 15 yards.
"They kind of big-played us," Vols linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin said. "They weren't just driving the ball. They hit big plays, and that put them in a good position. We knew once we calmed those big plays down, we would be successful. That's what we did. We calmed down and got them off the field."
"We knew were the better team, so we could come out and stop them."
Injury updates
> Starting guard Jashon Robertson left the game in the third quarter after being rolled up on during a run play. The sophomore returned last week after a length absence due to an ankle injury.
Mack Crowder replaced Robertson at left guard.
> Freshman Jauan Jennings missed his second straight game, and fellow wideout Marquez North also didn't play.
> With freshman running back John Kelly out, fellow freshman Joe Young was Tennessee's No. 3 running back and scored his first career touchdown in the fourth quarter.