KNOXVILLE — Defensive touchdowns were as easy as 1-2-3 for Tennessee during Saturday’s 59-3 dismantling of Connecticut inside Neyland Stadium.
The No. 19 Volunteers scored off a fumble return late in the second quarter and two interceptions early in the third to complement an offense that racked up 650 yards and 10.0 yards per play. It was the first time Tennessee tallied three defensive scores in the same game, according to box scores that date back to 1949.
“That was really fun,” Vols inside linebacker Aaron Beasley said. “I feel like we haven’t scored that much on defense this season, and when you get a chance to score on defense, it brings a lot of energy to the team and gives us a lot of momentum, so it’s always exciting to do.”
When asked about setting a program standard, Beasley said, “I think that’s pretty cool.”
Saturday also marked the first time Tennessee had a fumble return and an interception return for touchdowns in the same contest since downing Penn State in 1971.
Tennessee was already cruising 28-3 with less than four minutes remaining in the second quarter when cornerback Gabe Jeudy-Lally caused a fumble that defensive end Tyler Baron returned 24 yards for the score. Baron returned a fumble into the end zone from 47 yards out two years ago against Ole Miss but had it negated due to an inadvertent whistle stopping play.
“It was a little PTSD, to be honest,” Baron said of Saturday’s score. “I thought it might get called back. I’m just appreciative of the whole defense.”
Baron added that the celebration that followed was dedicated to cornerback Kamal Hadden, who is out the rest of the season.
Within the first four minutes of the third quarter, safety Jaylen McCollough returned an interception 30 yards for a touchdown and Beasley returned one 39 yards. McCollough had clear sailing to the end zone, while Beasley had to lunge for the pylon.
“As I was running, I saw where a guy had an angle,” Beasley said. “I wanted to make sure I got the touchdown, so I just dove.”
Opportunities galore
There were several firsts Saturday for the Vols, including freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava throwing his first touchdown and freshman tight end Ethan Davis collecting his first two receptions.
“The way the season has unfolded, we haven’t had a lot of opportunities for some guys to get a lot of action,” Vols coach Josh Heupel said. “Nico went out and handled all parts of the game really well for the most part. There were a couple of learning opportunities for him, but I thought he was timely using his feet and accurate with the football.
“It was a solid performance for him.”
When pressed on the learning opportunities, Heupel said, “Just a couple of things in communication and fundamentally where his body was on one of his throws.”
Iamaleava finished 5-of-9 passing for 86 yards and a touchdown, while the two Davis catches went for 33 yards.
“Ethan Davis did a really nice job in the middle of the football field when he got the opportunity,” Heupel said. “There are a couple of things in terms of communication that he could clean up, but I feel really good about the performance he had in the run game and in the pass game, too.”
Quick handshake
Heupel was asked about the quick handshake after the game with UConn coach Jim Mora, who never broke stride. Heupel briefly looked back at Mora.
“I don’t know what I did on the back end of that handshake,” Heupel said. “They’ve got a good football team that plays extremely hard. They’ve lot a lot of close ballgames.”
Williams catching on
Dee Williams had a 23-yard kickoff return for Tennessee and two punt returns totaling 23 yards, but the former cornerback also had his first career catch for 11 yards.
“Dee is a special ballplayer,” fellow receiver Squirrel White said. “When you get the ball in his hands, he can do whatever he wants to do with it. Just seeing him on offense is crazy, just knowing what we can do with the ball in his hands.”
Heupel said he planned on playing Williams last week at Kentucky.
“He has a real grasp of a lot of what we’re doing offensively,” Heupel said, “and the opportunity was there this week to play him.”
Odds and ends
Tennessee played Saturday before its 11th consecutive home sellout of 101,915. … Sophomore linebacker Elijah Herring had a team-high eight tackles. … Running back Jaylen Wright’s 82-yard touchdown was the second longest of his career, trailing his 83-yard score last November at Vanderbilt. … The Vols have four wins by 56 or more points in Heupel’s three seasons after notching just three such routs in the previous 24 seasons. … Tennessee’s inactive players Saturday were linebackers Keenan Pili and Arion Carter, defensive back Christian Charles and guard Andrej Karic.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com.