Tennessee Vols Put Away Bowling Green Falcons in Nashville Season Opener 59-30

The Tennessee Vols football team had to deal with a shootout in their opener in Nashville against the Bowling Green Falcons, but they put them away 59-30.

In a shootout that included a weather delay and 55 first half points, the Tennessee Volunteers finally put away the Bowling Green Falcons in the second half 59-30.

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The Vols were locked in a one-possession battle with the Falcons midway through the third quarter and were only up 42-27 when both teams went into the locker rooms for a lightning delay.

After coming back out, Tennessee got back on a roll and was able to pull away for the 59-30 win, but they certainly struggled on defense.

Quarterback Matt Johnson attacked the Tennessee secondary all day with the exception of Cam Sutton, and he did a great job in his first game back from injury since August of 2014, throwing for 424 yards and two touchdowns.

He led the Falcons into field goal range the first drive of the game to give them a 3-0 lead.

Tennessee responded with a 10-play 75 yard touchdown capped off by an eight-yard touchdown run by Jalen Hurd.

The Vols then forced a punt and scored another touchdown off of an Alvin Kamara run, and they went up 21-3 after another Hurd touchdown run.

But the Falcons did not quit. Johnson led a 75-yard drive capped off by an 11-yard touchdown pass to cut it to 21-10 at the end of the first, then he cut it to 21-17 with a 31-yard touchdown pass to Gehrig Dieter, who was his favorite target throughout the game.

Dieter caught seven passes for 133 yards and a touchdown.

A field goal two drives later cut it to 21-20, but then the Vols responded with an 11-play 75-yard drive capped off by a 13-yard touchdown run by Hurd, his third of the half.

Hurd finished with three touchdowns and 123 yards on 23 carries for an average.

Kamara, his partner in crime, had two touchdowns and 144 yards on 15 carries.

Tennessee took a 35-20 lead at halftime after Dobbs threw a touchdown pass to Ethan Wolf.

Dobbs finished 15 of 22 with 205 yards and two touchdowns.

After a missed field goal to open the second half, Bowling Green cut it to 35-27 with another touchdown run. Tennessee responded with a big kickoff return from Evan Berry, and Dobbs finished the job with an 18-yard touchdown pass to Wolf for his second touchdown reception to make it 42-27.

Then, after a missed Bowling Green field goal and then a stalled Tennessee drive that ended in a punt, the lightning delay came.

The Vols held on after the lightning delay ended.

In addition to Johnson, the Falcons were helped by Travis Greene in the running game at first, but he went down after 34 yards, and Fred Coppet stepped in to rush for 63 of yards.

Tennessee was led in receiving by Jauan Jennings, who caught three passes for 56 yards.

Next: Top 10 Opening Games in Tennessee Football History

The Tennessee Vols football team had to deal with a shootout in their opener in Nashville against the Bowling Green Falcons, but they put them away 59-30.

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