Tennessee football: Five takeaways from Vols’ 63-6 win vs. Akron

2. A difference in the run game made it a blowout.

Yes, Hendon Hooker, and to his credit, Joe Milton III remained highly efficient, and UT threw for 438 yards, but the run game is where this became a blowout. Tennessee football dominated on the ground, as they should have, and that happened despite the fact that Jabari Small went down with an injury on the second play from scrimmage in this game.

That didn’t stop the Vols from being unstoppable. Jaylen Wright had 23 carried for 96 yards and two touchdowns, and this time, he didn’t have any fumbles. Meanwhile, Dylan Sampson had his breakout game, carrying the ball eight times for 57 yards. Small still had two carries for 14 yards, and Hooker added two carries for 24 yards.

However, the run defense is what made this a blowout. While the Vols gained 238 yards on the ground, they held Akron to 35 yards on 24 carries. Yes, four sacks as the game was in hand was certainly helpful, but even before that, UT was absolutely dominant.

Tyler Baron going down with an injury in the first half is concerning, but it didn’t stop the rush defense in this game. Josh Heupel’s offense, despite its tempo, is still about dominating the line of scrimmage, and they managed to do that in impressive fashion in this game.