KNOXVILLE — Tennessee did the expected Saturday inside Neyland Stadium, overwhelming East Tennessee State University on offense, defense and special teams.
Boo Carter did his part in football’s third phase, with the former Chattanooga Christian and Bradley Central standout amassing four first-quarter punt returns for 94 yards as the No. 22 Volunteers built a 24-0 lead within the first 15 minutes and cruised to a 72-17 thumping of the Southern Conference’s Buccaneers. The 72 points were the most by the Vols as a Southeastern Conference member, with the league formed before the 1933 season.
The previous mark of 71 was set during last year’s shutout of Kent State.
“Field position early was a big part of the game,” Tennessee coach Josh Heupel said after improving to 2-0 this year and to 21-1 in Neyland since the start of the 2022 season. “You want to start fast, and we did that. In the second half, I thought our younger guys went out and for the most part competed in a really postive way.
“There were a lot of positives, and I want them to enjoy this tonight and then get ready for conference play.”
Tennessee will remain at home next Saturday, when the Vols host No. 4 Georgia in the SEC opener for both teams. Kirby Smart’s Bulldogs will enter having won eight straight series meetings, including the four in Knoxville by the average score of 41-10.
Vols graduate transfer quarterback Joey Aguilar made the most of his Neyland debut, completing 23 of 31 first-half passes for 288 yards and three touchdowns. He did not play after halftime.
“I had 12 or 13 family members from California come out and eight family members from out this way come out, so I had a deep little section in the stands,” Aguilar said. “It’s awesome to have them come out here, and being able to go out there and play football knowing it makes them happy and just representing Tennessee brings a lot of joy.
“It makes me super grateful to be out there.”
Receivers Chris Brazzell II and Mike Matthews played into the third quarter, with Brazzell racking up nine catches for 125 yards and two touchdowns. Matthews was also a popular target, collecting six receptions for 111 yards and a score.
Saturday marked just the second meeting between the two programs, with the Vols having won 59-3 in 2018.
“We got our rear end kicked by a really, really good football team and well-coached football team,” ETSU first-year coach Will Healy said. “I thought they suffocated us early, and we were never really able to come up and catch our breath.”
Tennessee bolted out of the gate with a six-play, 82-yard drive that opened with a 50-yard run by DeSean Bishop to ETSU’s 32-yard line and culminated with a 21-yard touchdown pass from Aguilar to Brazzell.
The Bucs (1-1) failed to get a first down on their first possession, as a 45-yard strike from Cade McNamara to Ephraim Floyd to Tennessee’s 40 was negated by a procedure penalty.
Carter’s 16-yard punt return enabled Tennessee to start its second possession at the ETSU 49, but the Vols had to settle on Max Gilbert’s 29-yard field goal for a 10-0 advantage at the 9:28 mark of the opening quarter. Carter’s second punt return went for 34 yards to the 27 of the Bucs, setting up a four-play drive that ended with a Star Thomas 2-yard run for a 17-0 lead.
Tennessee did not score on its fourth possession, instead pinning ETSU deep with a Jackson Ross punt, but Carter struck once again with a 40-yard punt return to the 5. The Vols then made it 24-0 with 46 seconds left in the first quarter on a 1-yard Peyton Lewis run.
“Field position changes the game,” Aguilar said, “and Boo was able to get us in that position to where we can get into the end zone in a couple of plays. They’re automatic points, because when you’re in that close, you’ve either got three or you’ve got seven. That helped a lot.”
After the first 15 minutes, Tennessee had outgained ETSU 205-7 in total offensive yards.
The Vols continued the onslaught with a 2-yard scoring run by Thomas at the 11:41 mark of the second quarter that capped a nine-play, 58-yard drive and extended the lead to 31-0. Their biggest play of the first half was a 53-yard touchdown pass from Aguilar to Matthews, who made the catch deep down the field in traffic with 4:08 before halftime to make it 41-0.
“Mike going over the top of everybody on the touchdown catch was a great individual play by him,” Heupel said.
When asked about Aguilar’s decision to roll out and throw it up for grabs, Heupel said, “Well, if it’s a touchdown, then it’s a positive.”
Jake Merklinger replaced Aguilar and produced his first career touchdown pass, a 1-yarder to Brazzell at the 8:45 mark of the third quarter that put the Vols up 55-10.
Saturday’s triumph was Tennessee’s 500th in its home facility that opened in 1921 as Shields-Watkins Field and was renamed for legendary coach Robert Neyland in 1962.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com.