KNOXVILLE — Tennessee’s offense turned up at Neyland Stadium’s lost and found Saturday, much to the chagrin of the University of Texas at San Antonio.
The No. 23 Volunteers, who couldn’t produce a consistent attack during a victory over Austin Peay and a loss at Florida the previous two weekends, erupted for 308 yards and 28 points within the game’s first 20 minutes and went on to demolish the Roadrunners of the American Athletic Conference 45-14 before a crowd of 101,915.
Vols sixth-year senior quarterback Joe Milton III threw for 209 yards, rushed for 89 and totaled three touchdowns, while sophomore running back Dylan Sampson rushed 11 times for a career-high 139 yards and two scores.
“It was a great start to the football game,” Tennessee coach Josh Heupel said. “We played well early in both phases and on special teams. At the end of the second quarter and in the third quarter, there were some things we didn’t operate as efficiently as we need to, so we’ve got to be better than that as we continue to go, but we finished strong and I loved the effort.”
Tennessee (3-1) entered Saturday coming off a defeat for the first time since last November. Last weekend’s 29-16 loss to the Gators was equal parts execution issues and missed tackles, but the Vols abruptly pulling away at the expense of UTSA (1-3) helped create new memories after their setback in the Swamp.