Volunteers Leap into Top 10 After Dominant Victory Over NC State

The Tennessee Volunteers (2-0) made the biggest jump in the rankings after their 51-10 win over North Carolina State on Saturday. After coming in at number 14 last week, the Vols climbed seven spots to number seven in this week’s AP Top 25 poll. They also made the move from number 12 to number nine in the Coaches Poll. The Volunteers were ranked 15th in both preseason polls, so they have made big strides over the first two weeks of the season.

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Volunteers Throttle Wolfpack in Dukes Mayo Classic

Most everything went the way of the Vols on Saturday night in Charlotte. Tennessee safety Will Brooks picked off Grayson McCall and took it to the house late in the second quarter to go up 17-3, and they never looked back from there. They were up 20-3 at the half and immediately went up 27-3 after their first possession of the second half.

Tight end Miles Kitselman scored on a 15 yard pass from quarterback Nico Iamaleava on the play that basically sealed the victory. Kitselman was the Volunteers highest rated player for the game according to Pro Football Focus with an elite 94.0 score on 39 snaps. Running back Dylan Sampson finished with a 73.2 score on 45 plays. Sampson led the Volunteers with 132 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries. He also hauled in three catches for an additional 37 yards.

Tennessee Controlled the Line of Scrimmage

Tennessee held North Carolina State to 143 total yards and 3-12 on third down attempts. The three conversions came on the Wolfpack’s first drive of the game, which ultimately ended in a punt. NC State tried to get their running game going, but only mustered 39 rushing yards for the game. Starting running back Jordan Waters was held to -4 yards on seven carries.

Offensively, the Volunteers ran for 249 yards on the night. Paced by Sampson’s 132 yards, Tennessee also got 65 yards from Iamaleava and another 42 from DeSean Bishop. Tennessee controlled the line of scrimmage with their ability to play 12 personnel a lot of the night. The Vols ran two tight end sets on 46% of their offensive snaps. All three tight ends who played meaningful snaps caught passes. Kitselman led the tight ends with three catches for 39 yards and a touchdown. Ethan Davis added two receptions for 14 yards and Holden Staes had one catch for 19 yards and a touchdown.

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Article originally written by Tom Harvey