Tennessee football makes a statement in dominant win against NC State

Tennessee football handled business in the Tar Heel state in its 51-10 win over NC State. The Vols were just as dominant on both sides of the ball as they were in Week One against one of the better teams in the Atlantic Coast Conference. 

If anything was going to go wrong, it probably did at some point in the night for the Vols. That includes seven penalties for 70 yards, one of which brought back a touchdown and two interceptions. 

Despite mental mistakes and penalties on both sides of the ball, Tennessee's defense showed up and shut down the NC State offense, led by veteran sixth-year quarterback Grayson McCall, without allowing a touchdown. 

Tennessee has now gone 12 straight quarters without allowing a defensive touchdown, which ties Georgia for the longest streak in the FBS. 

The defense also forced three turnovers, including a pick-six from walk-on safety Will Brooks. Tennessee's defensive line forced a lot of pressure on veteran quarterback McCall and forced two fumbles when McCall tried to scramble out of the pocket. 

On the offensive side of the ball, redshirt freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava didn't have quite the near-perfect game as he did in Week One. He finished the night passing 16-of-23 for 211 yards and two touchdowns. He didn't have to throw for 300-plus yards against the NC State defense that couldn't stop the Vols' run game. 

Tennessee's rushing attack combined for 249 yards and three touchdowns. Dylan Sampson led the Vols with 20 rushes for 132 yards and two touchdowns. The run game made a difference in the game, forcing NC State to sell out and stop the run, and that's when Josh Heupel let Nico air it out. 

We didn't see many big plays from Tennessee's receivers in this game, but with the depth in Tennessee's receiving corps this year, we could see a different receiver step up in every game this year. It was Squirrel White and tight end Miles Kitselman against NC State, but it could be someone new next week against Kent State. 

It was a slow start for Tennessee, but they were able to open things up in the second half and put 51 on a respectable NC State team. This win should put the rest of the SEC on notice as the Vols prepare for their first SEC game in three weeks when they travel to Norman, Oklahoma, to take on the Sooners.

The Vols have Kent State next on the schedule. The Vols are scheduled to kick off at 7:45 PM ET against Kent State in their final "tune up" game before the SEC season officially gets underway for the Vols.