Tennessee football breaks record after record in Kent State win

Tennessee football continued its dominance on Saturday night, handling Kent State 71-0. The Vols came out of the gate firing and scored five touchdowns and one safety in the first quarter alone. They totaled eight first-half touchdowns and were able to rest their starters early. 

The Vols' 37-0 first-quarter lead set a record. It's the most points scored in a single quarter for modern Tennessee football. Their 65-0 halftime lead also set a record, the most points scored in a single half. 

Thought the Vols were done there? They weren't. Tennessee's 71 points are the most scored in a game since 1929 when General Neyland's squad scored 73 in a win over Carson-Newman. 

Nico Iamaleava led the charge for the Vols offensively. He only played about a quarter and a half but didn't go without a few highlight-worthy throws to add to his resume. He finished the night completing 10 of 16 passing for 176 yards and a touchdown. 

Dylan Sampson and DeSean Bishop were also making plays out of the backfield. It was a career night for Sampson, rushing for 101 yards and four touchdowns on 13 carries. Bishop shredded the Golden Flashes' defense, rushing for 120 yards and two touchdowns on only seven carries.

We haven't seen this from Tennessee football in a long time. We've seen flashes of it under Josh Heupel and even a game here or there under previous coaching staffs, but rarely have we seen a pure, unrelenting blowout of an inferior opponent like we've seen the first three games of the season this year. 

There's a difference between this year's team and past teams. Good teams beat bad teams badly, and that's exactly what Tennessee has done. The Vols have faced three inferior opponents to start the season and treated them that way in dominant wins. 

Tennessee looks to continue its dominance in conference play. Their first SEC game of the season is next week when they travel to Norman to face the Oklahoma Sooners. The Vols will be joined by ESPN's College Gameday for another primetime kickoff at 7:30 PM ET.