No. 7 Tennessee has fresh examples to help focus on Kent State with Oklahoma up next
Tennessee defensive lineman Dominic Bailey (90) celebrates during the second half of an NCAA college football game against North Carolina State, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, in Charlotte, N.C. Credit: AP/Scott Kinser
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The No. 7 Tennessee Volunteers have several recent examples to keep them from taking Kent State for granted Saturday night.
Just look at Notre Dame and Penn State last week.
Then-No. 5 Notre Dame lost on its own field to Northern Illinois. No. 8 Penn State narrowly escaped Bowling Green.
In other words, the Mid-American Conference can be dangerous for Power Four teams.
Tennessee (2-0) can’t get caught looking ahead to next week’s Southeastern Conference opener and showdown at No. 15 Oklahoma, especially not after making the biggest leap in this week's Associated Press Top 25. The Golden Flashes (0-2) are a young team that is hungry for success.
“Go back and look at the scores from across America,” Tennessee coach Josh Heupel said. “(There are) examples of guys that didn’t prepare, didn’t practice right and didn’t have the right competitive spirit to go take advantage of their next opportunity.”
Kent State coach Kenni Burns made sure his players knew about the MAC performance, even if his Golden Flashes are coming off a loss to St. Francis of the Football Championship Subdivision.
Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava (8) scores against North Carolina State during the second half of an NCAA football game Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, in Charlotte, N.C. Credit: AP/Scott Kinser
“Tough times make tough people," Burns said. "We’re going through some tough times right now. 'That’s the same (Northern Illinois) team that you took to the wire last year in the last game of the season.’ It does give hope to our team.”
Tennessee has scored 130 points in its first two games and routed then-No. 24 N.C. State 51-10 in Charlotte. The Vols also have been dominant defensively since shutting out Iowa in the Citrus Bowl.
“I feel like we’ve been one of the better … defensive teams in the country,” Vols defensive lineman Bryson Eason said.
Speaking of defense
Starting in that shutout of Iowa, Tennessee has gone 12 quarters without yielding an offensive touchdown. N.C. State’s only TD was an interception return. During 12 quarters, the Vols have yielded just 2.28 yards per rushing attempt and 181 total yards per game. They have allowed just 6 of 41 third-down attempts (14.6 %) while collecting 26 tackles for loss and seven takeaways.
Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava (8) throws against North Carolina State during the first half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, in Charlotte, N.C. Credit: AP/Scott Kinser
Young line
Kent State brought in 23 transfers for this season, but Burns has made molding young players a priority even if the Golden Flashes take some lumps along the way. Their offensive line features a true freshman in Elijah Williams at center and a pair of second-year players in Dusty Morrell and Chris Farrell at guard. Kent State has allowed six sacks and generated just 54.5 yards of rushing offense in two games.
Tennessee's defense has four sacks and is allowing only 56.5 rushing yards per game.
Healing Vols
Running back Cam Seldon, defensive back Jakobe Thomas and linebacker Kalib Perry all missed the N.C. State game with injuries. Heupel anticipates all of them being available against Kent State.
Hey Nico
Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava has been the Southeastern Conference’s Freshman of the Week in consecutive weeks. His latest nod came after he threw for 211 yards and two touchdowns against the Wolf Pack. However, he threw two interceptions, one returned for a touchdown.
Heupel likes how Iamaleava responded to his mistakes as a young quarterback.
“His body language, demeanor and composure leads you to believe that he’s going to play the next play independently,” the coach said.
