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Heupel on the Vols: ‘We’re going to need to be better than we were tonight’

Tennessee Athletics photo / Tennessee quarterback Joe Milton III celebrates his 6-yard quarterback draw just before halftime that gave the No. 9 Volunteers their first lead of the game at 13-6 in their eventual 30-13 win over Austin Peay.
Tennessee Athletics photo / Tennessee quarterback Joe Milton III celebrates his 6-yard quarterback draw just before halftime that gave the No. 9 Volunteers their first lead of the game at 13-6 in their eventual 30-13 win over Austin Peay. Tennessee Athletics photo / Tennessee quarterback Joe Milton III celebrates his 6-yard quarterback draw just before halftime that gave the No. 9 Volunteers their first lead of the game at 13-6 in their eventual 30-13 win over Austin Peay.

By David Paschall 5 min read

KNOXVILLE — College football teams improve the most between their first and second games.

It’s an adage.

It’s certainly not the rule of law.

The No. 9 Tennessee Volunteers struggled throughout the first half of Saturday’s in-state matchup with Austin Peay, finding themselves in a 6-6 deadlock in the final minute of the second quarter before breaking free for a 30-13 triumph before a somewhat subdued sellout crowd of 101,915 inside Neyland Stadium. The Vols were not nearly as impressive as last weekend’s 49-13 opening rout of Virginia in Nashville, when they outgained the Cavaliers 499-201.

Midway through the second quarter against the Governors, a Football Championship Subdivision program, Tennessee trailed 6-3 and was getting outgained 120-59.